The Deepest Shades of Red
by Leon Banz
Summary: Nick, a sly fox off the streets for five years in a row and now working as a cop. Judy, a rabbit that was the sole mammal to turn Nick back to the 'light side'. So what happens when five years of unfelt feelings start to rise? And with a new instructor, what will become of the two? (Rated T for violence and future adult references)
1. Chapter 1: New Arrivals

**Alright, now before any of you go berserk about the title, I want you to know that this will be nothing like 50 Shades of Grey. I think that movie and book series is really stupid and links to the ways of cults. Ugh….**

 **Now, this story is just something to make up for the holes and anything that my original story left out and focus more on Nick and Judy rather than my OC. Although you will see him alot, he is not the main focus of this story.**

 **If you haven't read my other Zootopia fic, it's called A Wolf's Howl, and I will be leaving it, and the sequel up until this Thursday at 12:00am, so any that want to read it can until then.**

 **Now, without further ado, I introduce you to The Deepest Shades of Red. Enjoy, review, favorite, follow, and put on that super edgy song. Mine is "I Know I'm a Wolf" by Young Heretics.**

* * *

Nick's alarm blared annoyingly, waking him from deep sleep. He groaned and got up, turning the blasted thing off before it annoyed him any further. He had to go in today, being three years deep into his career as a cop. He sighed and went into his kitchen. It wasn't big, but it served its purpose well.

Switching on the coffee pot, he went into the bathroom for a quick shower before he had to go to work. As he stepped back into the kitchen, he grabbed his favorite travel mug and filled it with coffee, adding a few cubes of sugar to it.

After reveling in the taste, he grabbed the keys to his apartment and his phone and walked out, locking the door behind him. He sauntered down to the first floor, his room was on the second, and smiled at the wolf that was behind the counter, almost nodding off.

His trip to the ZPD was short lived as he had chosen to live nearer to it. It made the trip convenient and less time consuming going to and from work. It was also not too expensive, even though he had a lot of money saved from his hustling days. It had been five years since then, believe it or not. He chuckled at the thought. A little bunny had come into his life and changed it forever.

As he stepped into the Precinct, he could see that Clawhauser was delving into a bowl of his favorite cereal, Lucky Chomps. He also had a box of donuts next to the cereal box, and a coffee cup next to that. He approahced the paunchy cheetah, leaning on the reception desk.

"Morning, Cheeky." Nick said to get the cheetah's attention. He looked up, a little surprised.

"Oh, hey Nick." He said after swallowing the mouthful he had. "Waiting for Judy as usual, huh?" He asked, leaning forward and resting his paws on his chin, which furled upward. He didn't seem to notice this.

"Yeah. Has she come in yet?" Nick looked around to see if the bunny was talking to one of the other officers that lingered. She was nowhere to be seen.

"No, not yet. Or at least that I know of." He smiled as his tail waved behind him happily. Nick chuckled a little at this.

"That's too bad." He joked, feigning hurt as he placed a paw to his chest. He barked a small laugh as Clawhauser rolled his eyes at him.

"So, did you hear?" He asked, vigor returning to his voice. Nick raised an eyebrow in question. "Apparently, we're getting someone from the government agency to come and train us." Nick was a little surprised at this. He hadn't heard this yet, and was suspecting that Bogo was going to tell them today during roll call. He had had yesterday off, and was most likely not going to like what Bogo had to say to him.

"No, I had yesterday off, remember?" He quirked an eyebrow at the cheetah.

"Oh, that's right. Did Judy not tell you?" He asked, puzzled that the bunny didn't tell him. Nick shook his head, as they had spent the day apart. "That's kind of weird, don't you think?"

"Not really. I mean, she was busy yesterday, so I can understand why she wouldn't tell me." He shrugged it off as he set his travel mug down on the reception desk. His ears swiveled backward as he heard the soft tapping of feet. When he heard the tapping stop, he turned and opened his arms as a ball of bunny fluff hit him in the chest. Judy had launched herself at him and embraced him tightly.

"Morning, Nick!" She said into his chest. He chuckled and set her down.

"You know I can't hear you when you're buried in my uniform like that." He could see her ears redden a little.

"I said, good morning, Nick." She said, giving him a deadpan look. This only made his smile widen.

"Well, good morning to you too, Carrots." He rubbed her head a little, ruffling her fur. She frowned and swatted his paw away. "Come on, let's get to the bullpen before Bogo chews our tails off." That got her smiling a little as she followed him down the hallway and into the room that was bustling with nonsensical chatter. There seemed to be a few bets being made, as money was flashed.

Nick jumped into his and Judy's chair, offering her his paw to help her up. She took his paw and he lifted her into the chair with him. Just then, the rest of the room decided to get quiet. It felt like the room was electric, and everyone was on end. Even Nick felt it, the fur on the back of his neck rising as a chill ran up his spine.

They could hear the heavy footsteps of Bogo as he walked down the hallway. He entered the room not too long after, a look of surprise on his face that the room was quiet. But that wasn't what got everyone's attention. It was the wolf that followed Bogo into the room. He wore a dark suit with a white undershirt, and a deep red tie. He held his paws behind him, and he had an air of professionalism about him. He also made the room feel colder than normal, while at the same time charged with electricity.

On his right thigh, snug against his dark pants that matched his overcoat, was a pistol of some sort. It didn't look like the tranquilizer guns that you would normally see given out, but it looked like a real one. Nick took a mental note of this. He also took note to be very wary around this wolf.

"Alright. I like to see this. Now, I have three things on the docket. First, I would like to welcome officer Lisa and Grant Todd." Everyone turned to the fox and the wolf, who sat next to each other. Most of them gave approving nods and welcomes to the two. The fox was staring at Nick and Judy, while the wolf seemed disinterested.

"Second. I'd like to say happy birthday to Officer Fangmeyer." Several whoops and cheers rang out as they congratulated the tigress. They were quite unreserved about it, even though the wolf standing next to Bogo seemed rather unimpressed.

"Lastly, I want you all to welcome Special Agent Ardenhu Fangman. He has come in from the ZBI to help us with cases and provide training and information. For the next seven months will he be here. Respect him. Special Agent, if you would like to say a few words?" Bogo stood down from the podium and went to talk to one of the other officers. Now all attention was on the wolf at the podium.

"Now then, since that's over, I want all of you to know a few simple but important things. First, your training will not be based on size or strength until I see that it is necessary for you to be tested as such." The room went eerily quiet as he scanned the room. "Second, I don't care what species you are, if you step out of line, I will not hesitate to put you back in place." Another chill ran up Nick's spine, causing him to shiver. He took a look at Judy to see that her flare of determination had not dimmed, even in the slightest.

"Third," The wolf called Nick's attention back to him. "If you show exemplary results, you may be allowed some leisure for your effort. And be warned, I am not very giving in my compliments." His expression went stone-like. "Now then. Your training will start today. I will give you thirty minutes leisure time before I want you downstairs and in the training area. Dismissed!" He walked out of the room without saying another word, his paws still folded behind him.

At that time the room burst into slow whispers. Nick looked down to his partner, that same determination in her eyes. She finally looked up at him and noticed that his fur was fluffed a bit. She started to giggle a little at Nick's expense. Everyone stared at her, then looked to Nick, and before long, most of the room was laughing.

* * *

It hadn't seemed like five minutes when the given thirty was up. Everyone had gathered in the precinct's gym, and were surrounding a ring mat. The special agent was standing in the middle of it with his arms crossed. Apparently he had changed into clothes that seemed a little loose for him. At least it was better than seeing him in that suit.

"I'm glad you're all here. Punctuality is something I value. Good." He said in his rather deep voice. "Now, at the moment the only thing I'm going to do is test everyone's capabilities in paw-to-paw combat. So, who's first?" He scanned the ones in front of him that he could see. No one was stepping forward. Until Judy unexpectedly stepped into the ring.

"I am." She said. Fangman looked down at her with a little surprise. "No one else was going to step forward, right?" The wolf let a little smile slide onto his muzzle.

"I guess you're right about that. Though you don't look like much." He said, his smile still present. Judy didn't seem to care that he was taking jabs at her as she fortified her mental state. "Alright, how about this. How about the boxing ring instead? As kind of a handicap for me and you." He kept on smiling.

"Sure." She said as the wolf made his way under the ropes and onto the platform.

"Your funeral." Someone said from the gathering of mammals. "She took out a rhino in the ring during her time in the academy."

"I know of her feats, Snarlov, but I'm a little more experienced in the field of combat." He said as he looked at the polar bear. He looked to him with quite an amount of surprise. "I know all of your names. And some of the other things about you, too." Everyone started looking at each other at that.

Without any hesitation, Judy ran for the ring's ropes and sprang up onto one, whilst the wolf seemed distracted. She launched herself at him, using the tension she had built up from pushing the rope to make her spring that much more powerful, to hurl herself at the side of the wolf. Her legs were coiled in for impact. Just as she let her legs start to push towards his face, he moved back a little and grabbed her leg, tossing her to the side, but not advancing.

Judy wasted no time in jumping at him and trying to strike him in any way possible. Yet, every time the wolf moved out of the way or blocked her attacks with his paw or his forearm. Then she realized something.

' _He's wearing me down.'_ She jumped back and stopped, catching her breath as her chest heaved slightly, but only slightly.

"You're fast, I'll give you that. And you hit hard. My arms are starting to hurt from blocking all those attacks of yours." He confirmed this by shaking his arms out to the side to try and rid them of pain. "I'm not surprised you caught on to what I was doing. You're worthy of the best officer here." A light chuckle escaped him.

Judy started back towards him, leaping at him. He caught her mid-air and set her back on her feet. She looked up at him, confused.

"That's enough from you. You still lack skill, but you have power and you adapt fast. Now then. Who's next?" He asked as he let Judy walk from the ring.

* * *

The training lasted for several hours, with the special agent working with each officer individually. Most of them came out of the ring with almost no breath, a few pulled muscles, and maybe a bruise or two. The last one to get into the ring, was Nick. The wolf looked him up and down, sizing him up. Nick covered himself, feigning embarrassment.

"Hey, my eyes are up here, you know?" Nick said as his signature smile spread across his muzzle. This got the wolf chuckling.

"You're pretty funny, you know that?" He asked, clearly not kidding about it. Nick shrugged at him and took up what seemed to be a fighting stance that combined many different martial arts. "Now here's something I haven't seen in a long time. An officer with actual combat experience."

"Well, twenty years on the street, you pick up a thing or two." He told the wolf. For the first time that day, the wolf's red eyes flashed with interest and curiosity. A smile spread across his muzzle and he took a step forward, leaning back but keeping his paws firmly placed on the ring floor. He brought one fist up to the side of his face, and the other out in front of him.

Nick moved first, rushing with surprising speed. He struck at the wolf's face. He nearly connected as the wolf moved his head out of the way. The two of them traded blows for almost thirty minutes, until both stood across from each other, breathing heavily.

"Looks like we're at a standstill." Fangman said through rasping breaths. He let out a light chuckle. "Never had a newbie nearly beat me at my own game."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to be the first." Nick dropped his stance and bent down to hold his knees to catch his breath. Around them, the other officers were staring at them, shell-shocked that Nick had nearly beaten a professional in fighting.

Ardenhu dropped his stance as well, addressing the other officers in the room. "Alright! I want to see results like the ones I just received by the end of the month, got it?" He yelled to the mammals surrounding the ring. A series of nods and 'got it's chorused. "Good." Was the only thing he said before he stepped out of the ring and walked towards the showers.

Nick slid out of the ring, his muscles sore and his body aching where the wolf had hit him several times. Almost instantly, Judy was right by his side, checking to make sure nothing was broken or bleeding.

"You really did a number on him, you know?" I think you may not have to get back in that ring." Judy told him. Nick just shook his head, seriousness covering his expression.

"I'll definitely have to get back in there. No matter what." He said, looking down at his partner. "Anyway, I think we have the rest of the day to ourselves. Wanna go get something to eat after our showers?" He asked, his smile back.

"Sure. I think I would like that." She told him, smiling as her ears went erect and her tail flicked happily.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get our showers and get going! I'm hungry!" He said as he extended his claws and began playfully chasing the rabbit to the door of the female locker room.

* * *

 **Hello again. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me a while to come up with a good way to introduce the fact that Nick knows how to fight, and quite well if I do say do myself, but I had a lot of fun writing this first chapter. Hopefully you guys like this and will wait for more.**

 **Now then, as for reviews. Hate is welcome, though it will only fuel how hard I laugh at it. If I'm being honest, I don't care what haters think. It's funny to me. Just wanted to make that clear.**

 **I will try to answer any reviews or questions any of you have. Though I won't reveal anything about future references.**

 **Anyway, I will try to leave little easter eggs if you will in each chapter. How many of you can spot them? I'll give you a hint. Jack Black plays the main character of this hit series.**

 **Now, that's all from me. I hope you like this! Tell me if you do, and I'll do my best to respond.**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner

**Okay, hello again, and I hope you waited patiently for this chapter to come out. I know it's significantly shorter than the last one, but I wanted to get this out to you as soon as I could.**

 **Edit: The easter egg I left in the last chapter was from Kung Fu Panda 3, when Nick said "Well, twenty years on the street, you pick up a thing or two."**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy, favorite, maybe follow, or even leave a review. Now then, put on that super inspirational song - mine is Lift Me Up by Five Finger Death Punch - and enjoy!**

* * *

Judy sighed in content as the warm water washed over her body. She was looking forward to a night out with Nick. They hadn't been able to do this in a long time. The last she could remember was going to a small eatery on the edge of town. It had been okay, but It wasn't anything like her mother's cooking back home, despite it supposed to be a home cooking place.

She turned the water off and walked to her locker, grabbing the clothes she had laid out and slid them on. It was somewhere between simple and fashionable. She hoped that her fox partner liked it.

Just then, her phone went off. She picked it up and looked at it. Nick had sent her a text.

' _Hey Carrots. U kno where u wanna go?'_ It read. She responded with something along the lines of 'anywhere is fine'. She giggled at him and his text language. He always used it for some reason. She found it endearing, though.

' _Wait, why would I find it endearing?'_ She shrugged it off and slid her phone into her pocket, walking out of the locker room with her duffel bag slung across her shoulder. Her mind started to wander a little. As it did, it fell on what her and Nick's relationship was becoming. She blew that thought off, telling herself that it couldn't happen, that her parents wouldn't accept him. And what of Nick's mom? What would she think about her?

"Judy, you alright?" She heard Nick ask from in front of her. Apparently she had stopped while she was thinking. She looked up to see worry written all over his face. She gave him a smile and a nod.

"Come on. Let's go eat." She told him, grabbing his arm and dragging him along with her. He stumbled a few steps, having to bend down a little to compensate her height. He smiled a bit at her.

They began to walk, neither of them having driven to work that day, towards the edge of the city. As they walked, the crowd thinned significantly, with this area being normally full of foxes. Some of the residents were out and about, and they gave skeptical looks to the fox and rabbit that were walking next to each other.

"What do you mean by that?!" A voice yelled. It seemed familiar to both the officers, but they couldn't quite put their paw on whose it was. "Come on! You cannot be serious right now!" The voice came again, this time a lot closer. They turned a corner and saw Agent Fangman standing near an eatery with a phone to his ear. The wolf groaned and pulled the phone away, sliding it into his pocket. He then turned and walked into the diner that was behind him.

"Maybe we should try this place out, huh?" Nick asked the rabbit. She nodded and padded towards the door. From the window, they could see it was a rather lively place to eat, with several different places for different species to sit and conversate. They spotted the special agent in the medium sized mammal area, alone with his food. Everyone in the tables around him seemed to be on edge as he ate.

The two walked in and chose a table rather close to the wolf. He didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care. A tall arctic leopard walked over to them, holding menus and a smile.

"Can I take your drink orders?" She asked as she set the menus in front of the two respectively.

"I'll have carrot juice, please." Judy told her nicely. "Nick?"

"Hmm, I'll have a Pawpsi." He said, his smirk still present. The leopard nodded and wrote them down, walking off to get them. "You know, she's kinda cute." Nick suddenly said. Judy raised an eyebrow.

"I guess you could say that." She buried her face in her menu, trying to hide the blush of jealousy that formed in her cheeks and ears. Nick began to chuckle at this. She ignored him, and actually started to look at the menu. There were several different things to choose from. Even fresh meats were served. She was sure that Nick would get something along those lines.

"Hey Nick, you know they have meat on here." She mentioned, pointing to one that said 'Fried Chicken'. She shivered at the thought of it.

"Yeah, but I'm not really much for meat. I mean, every once in awhile, yeah. But not too often." He told her, still looking down at his menu. "I think I'll have a salad today." He told her. Judy looked at him with a little skepticism, as if he weren't serious. "What? I mean it." He scoffed at her as if hurt and set the menu down. His gaze turned to look behind her. She already knew who he was looking at.

Just as she was about to tell him everything was fine, the waitress came back with their drinks in paw.

"Sorry for the hold-up. We're a little busy tonight." She smiled sheepishly, seeming to hope that they weren't mad.

"Don't worry about it." Judy said, waving off her fears. She smiled and pulled out her notepad. After reciting what they wanted to eat, Judy looked at Nick. "So, what brought this on? You wanting to go out to eat, I mean?" She asked.

"I just wanted to have some alone time with my favorite fluff ball." Nick smiled at her, and she smiled right back. "That, and I wanted to tell you something."

Judy gave him a confused look. She rolled her paw in front of her, indicating for him to continue.

"My mom called yesterday. Said she wanted to see me again." Judy gave him an amazed look, her jaw slightly slack. "I know, right? So, I told her I couldn't until this weekend. And when she asked why, I had to tell her the truth. Thing is, she didn't believe me."

"So, what are you implying?" Judy asked, trying to goad him into telling her more.

"What I'm implying is that I would like you to come with me to convince her that I'm a cop. That and I want you to meet her. She's really nice." His usual smile reappeared on his muzzle. Recovering from her amazement at this, she took a sip of her juice.

"I mean, sure, as long as I've got Saturday off, we can go." Nick's smile widened.

"I already took the liberty of checking. We both have Saturday off." He leaned back in his chair, which gave her full access to what lay underneath his shirt as it stretched out. He didn't have prominent muscles like a bodybuilder would, but he had lean and compact muscles, like her own. She could see them ripple along his arms as he positioned them behind his head. She looked away from him, a blush forming in her ears and cheeks.

When the leopard came back with their food, they ate in silence. Judy had gotten a plate of spring rolls and onion rings. Nick actually had ordered a salad, though it had crickets in it, to which Judy almost gagged but tried to keep it from her partner. When she was finished, Judy started to look around. Some of the mammals were staring at them with criticism in their eyes. There were a lot of mammals that didn't approve of interspecies relationships and most of them just didn't understand.

"Nick? Can we go? I'm getting a little paranoid." She asked her companion. He nodded and set some money on the table for the bill, setting some aside and leaving a note for the leopard that it was a tip. As they left, they noticed that the special agent had gained company. It was definitely a female, as she wore very feminine clothes. She was a fox, and pure white compared to the males' rustic grey. They seemed to be eating peacefully, without any care to the criticizing gaze of onlookers.

"Huh. Never expected that out of him." Nick said as the door closed behind them. "You would expect him to be more traditional than most others."

"Hey, we've known him for less than a day. We could learn a lot more than him just meeting her than that, right?" She asked confidently.

"I guess you're right." He said. The rest of the walk was mostly in silence. They had decided to walk back to Judy's apartment first. As they got there, Nick greeted the armadillo at the front desk. She gave a grunt and continued to read her newspaper.

"Well, see you tomorrow, I guess." Judy said, holding her door.

"Yep." Was Nick's simple response. He gave a backwards wave as he walked away, and Judy closed her door as he turned the corner and out of sight. Once she did, all of her emotions leaked out of her. She had been anxious, excited, and even scared. They hit her like a raging torrent.

' _Ugh, maybe I can sleep it off.'_ It was starting to give her a headache. And she had a long day ahead of her tomorrow.

* * *

On the other side of town, Nick was just walking into his apartment. It was nice, but not too fancy. Just enough living space for one mammal, maybe two. And he had his mind set on who he was going to try to get into his apartment with him. Though it may not be ideal to some others, he thought it was genius and could lead their relationship further.

He chuckled at the thought and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed some leftovers from the night before and warmed them up. It wasn't long before he had finished and was lying in bed, trying to find sleep. It seemed to avoid him.

His mind drifted to the evening's activities with Judy. They hadn't gone out to dinner for months. Though they weren't dating - that prospect wasn't even on the table yet - they did like to go out together sometimes, as friends.

With that thought leaving his head, and a smile plastering his muzzle, Nick finally slipped into the land of dreams.

* * *

 **Before you say anything, I know it's cliche to leave off on a character falling asleep, but I needed this out asap. I will be going into more detail about Arden in the next chapter, making him more dynamic than static.**

 **Anywho, onto the reviews!**

 **Artificial Python: I'm glad you like it. And go read it! I think it's quite interesting. I'm thinking about making that his background days before he was in the ZBI, but without Bogo and everyone else. Including his wife Lina.**

 **Guest 1: Great! Here it is!**

 **GhostWolf88: You will never be able to predict where this will go lol.**

 **Tantio: Glad you do. Now, to answer your first question, you are right about me making a slip-up. I meant 'being the best officer'. As if she is - and trust me, she is - the best officer.**

 **What I mean by 'results like the ones i just received' is that he was testing for several different things all at once. That was purposeful. Hope that clears that up for you.**

 **Guest 2: No need to wait. Here it is!**

 **Zayasjosh: Did it turn into soup? I hope not.**

 **MidnightCatian: Because I'm evil! Mwahahahahahaha!**

 **BOOM! Done!**

 **Now, I hope you all stay for more and will wait patiently for the next chapter, 'cause it might be a while before I can finish it. I'm going to visit my aunt here in about a week and I won't be back for another two or so.**

 **Also, I will be upping the rating to M once a certain chapter comes out, as it will feature adult themes and sexiness, while the following chapter will be fluff and cuddles, which I hope I don't suck at writing.**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	3. Chapter 3: Training

Hello again, and I hope that you all waited patiently for this chapter to drop. I took a little longer than I probably should have, but my computer crashed and it took me a while to get it back up, that and I was in South Carolina visiting family for a few weeks and had no way to write.

Now then, I hope you enjoy, favorite, follow, review, and put on an inspirational song. Today's is gonna be Eminem's Not Afraid.

* * *

It had been almost a month since the special agent had been training them. He seemed to be intent on keeping them physically attentive. It was a rather dreary day, with dark clouds covering the sky in a stormy way. Precinct one was just as lively as the grey sky. Everyone seemed downcast, except the special agent. He seemed full of energy, even on such a gloomy day. Though he didn't look like he was overly happy, he did have an air that said he was pleased with how the weather was.

Everyone was back in the boxing ring facing one another match after match. Ardenhu was on his toes the whole time, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched, with a look in his eyes that was almost sadistic. Everyone was on edge. Each mammal had fought every other officer there, and no one had been able to get past Nick or Judy, until their matchup came around. Not surprisingly the last of the day.

"Wilde. Hopps. In the ring!" The special agent yelled out. Nick ambled up to the ring and jumped in. Judy had been vigorously fighting the whole time, using her speed and strong legs to beat her opponents. Nick had used his surprising stamina to wear his opponents out, some not being smart and just attacking him full force, to beat his.

A bell rang once they were both ready, and they were off. Nick knew he wouldn't be able to outsmart Judy that easily, so he went for the direct approach this time around. He went for a low sweep, and watched as she jumped back. She took that chance to try and jump kick him. He rolled off to the side and stood himself up as he did.

The two fought for a while, until Nick had been miraculously pinned under her in an arm lock. They were both gasping for breath, but Judy held onto Nick's arm as if she meant to take him in.

"Alright! Enough! Nicely done, Hopps." Fangman said as he rang the bell three times to signify the fight was over. "Training is over for today. Go about your business as you like." He started to walk away once he was done.

"Excuse me, Special Agent Fangman?" Judy called out as he was walking away. She ran up to him despite being exhausted from the fight. Nick walked up beside her as the wolf stopped and turned towards her.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked, a slight tone of annoyance bleeding through. He looked down on her but not as if she were under him. He looked at her as his equal. This surprised the rabbit a little.

"Um, I just wanted to know who it was that you were eating dinner with last night. Me and Nick kind of ate at the same place as you." She chuckled sheepishly.

"I know. And she was just a colleague. Someone who is currently training under me, along with a select few others." With that, he went off to the locker room, leaving the two by themselves.

"Never expected that." Nick said to himself, though Judy's ear flicked as if she had heard him say it. "Anyway, I'm gonna get a shower, then head back to my apartment. I've got some things I wanna look into." The fox said as she went to get himself clean. Judy did the same, but as Nick exited, being the last one out, the rabbit was nowhere to be found. With his duffel bag slung across his shoulder, he walked out into the lobby.

Normally there wasn't too many mammals in the lobby, and today was no different. As he rounded the corner to the front desk, Nick saw something he had never see happen. Clawhauser was talking to a girl. She was rather pretty, especially for Lioness. She was tall and wore a long black dress. It was form fitting and showed all of her curves. Now that he though about it, he remembered that Ben had said he had a date tonight.

Nick chuckled to himself. One of the first to call him friend in the entire precinct got a date. And yet he hadn't had one since his hustling days. He walked out of the precinct with a legitimate smile on his face.

* * *

Special Agent Ardenhu Fangman sighed as the lukewarm water ran through his fur. His head hurt from following everyones moves and tallying up their current scores. He hadn't expected Judy to be as adept a fighter as she is, but he wasn't too surprised about it. Nick had always been a wild card. There was only one he was really looking at closely. Officer Grant Todd, the newest addition to the males at the precinct.

He had shown no formal form of martial arts training, or any training whatsoever. Though when he got in the ring, he had most of his opponents down in one or two hits. It didn't make sense to him. He left the thought alone though. His head hurt enough, and he didn't want anything else stressing him further.

He stepped out of the shower after having cleansed himself decently and put on what he normally wore into public. A plain t-shirt and a pair of loose fitting pants. It was starting to go into winter, and it was already getting colder by the day. He strapped his government 1911 pistol to his right thigh, slipped his concealed carry permit into his back pocket along with his wallet, and walked out of the locker room.

He was greeted with a pleasant silence, at least he thought it was, as he exited. He could smell several overlapping scents. The female hormones that kicking in earlier than normal for female canines, musk, musk mask, and a hint of bleach under all of that.

"Special Agent!" A voice called out to him. He looked over to the source to find Judy calling him over to a corner that was out of sight of anyone that wasn't looking. He sighed to himself and silently walked over.

"Do you have a moment to spare? I'd like to ask you a question." She said as he turned the corner. Ardenhu pulled out his phone and brought the screen to life.

"You've got five, Hopps." He told the bunny. She nodded and beckoned him to kneel down to her level. He rolled his eyes and bent down.

"Do you think you could maybe give me a few extra lessons? I don't really have the time or money to go and find someone that will teach me anything useful." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, her ears burning red. The wolf snorted a little.

"Sure, just tell me when you need me to help." He straightened himself and nodded to the rabbit. "Now then. I have somewhere to be. I'll see you tomorrow." The wolf turned and left the bunny in the rather small hallway.

Judy breathed a sigh of relief. She had been meaning to ask him about that for a while, but she could never find an opening to do so. She also didn't want Nick knowing that she was asking for help. That might stir up suspicion and rumors that she didn't want floating around the precinct.

With a small smile on her lips and a skip in her step, Judy bounced her way to the reception desk where Clawhauser was talking to his date for that night.

"Hey Ben. So, this is the lucky mammal, huh?" She asked slightly jokingly. Benjamin laughed and little, and the lioness giggled.

"I guess you could call me lucky. I mean, I am getting to meet the famous Judy Hopps." The tigress said. "I'm Jessica, by the way."

Judy nodded. "You seem to know my name, so no introduction from me is in order, I guess." Judy chuckled. "Anyway, I should probably get back to my apartment. I'm moving into a new one. Much more space, and it has a fair rent, too." With a wave goodbye and a 'see you tomorrow', Judy walked out of Precinct one and right into another mammal. Her surprise led her to fall backward. She braced for the impact of the concrete, but it never came.

Once she rebounded from the shock, she found she was being held up. When she looked up, she found a wolf was holding her up. He had bland grey fur, and wore a black shirt with an unzipped hoodie on. He pulled her up and walked away. Judy yelled a thank you to him, and he waved back at her. She shrugged and walked with the same skip in her step that she had before.

When she got back to her apartment, it was just as she had left it. A rather large box off to the side that held most of her belongings. Everything that was in it was things she didn't absolutely need every day. Which was mostly her spare toiletries and a few other things she had laying around she wanted to keep. She sighed and set her things down.

Pulling out her phone, she turned the screen on. Nothing was on it in terms of notifications, and she still had the smiling faces of her and her little sister Cotton looking at her. She smiled back at it before tuning the screen off, setting it aside, and turning over for a quick nap.

* * *

Alright, I know, I'm really late with this, and it's super early in the morning for the majority of you, but I needed to get this out as soon as I can. Hopefully I can figure out a schedule so I have a deadline that I need to meet so you don't get bored waiting for the next chapter of this to come out.

Anyway, REVIEWS!

Tantio: You'll just have to wait and see what happens, now won't you?

TheGreatWaff: Thank you for the kind words and praise. I hope this satisfies.

Historic Hex: An encore you shall receive!

GhostWolf88: Thank you thank you. I'll keep them coming as fast as I can.

And there we go, all done. Now then, who's that mysterious wolf that saved Judy's fall? You shall see more of him later on. He's gonna play a bigger role.

Anyway, I'd like to address something. I am open to PMs and the like if you want to ask me any questions about certain things. I would be more than happy to address any you might have

May inspiration light you paths,

Leon


	4. Chapter 4: Deaths and Dealings

**Alright. Les go. I got a new chapter for y'all, and I hope you guys love it. Now, I bet all of you are still wondering who that mysterious wolf is, but worry not! The truth shall be revealed as soon as I can get it written and done.**

 **Now, favorite, follow, review, and turn up that inspirational song. Today's is Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.**

* * *

Judy awoke as soon as her head hit her pillow. She had been dreaming, though why she was dreaming of the instructor, she didn't know. At some point earlier the previous day, she must have been sent home, as she didn't remember much of her dream, and she knew she had beaten Nick in the ring. She even remembered walking out of the precinct. Everything after that was fuzzy.

Bracing herself for the bright light, she turned her phone screen on. It said it was half past three in the morning. Judy sighed and rolled back over after turning her screen off. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her again.

It never did. She ended up staying awake until her alarm went off and she had to get ready for work. She smiled weakly to herself as she got up, turned her alarm off, and started to get ready. Her smile widened when she remembered that today was Friday, and she was supposed to go see Nick's mother tomorrow with him. She had been excited to hear that he trusted her enough to meet his mom.

As she walked out of her apartment and locked it behind her, she remembered how she had felt on her first day on the force. She had been so excited and rather giddy, with a lot of nervousness. She felt the same way about meeting Mrs. Wilde. What would she think of her? Would she accept her as a cop? How would she look at her? As an equal, or as something below her?

Many questions flooded her mind, and she mentally swept them aside. She had a job to do, and she wasn't going to let anything get her down. So she walked down the hallway with her chest puffed out, confidence radiating off of her.

As she walked into precinct one, a wave of sudden sadness hit her like a truck. It puzzled her. She had been so happy to come to work today and now she had the urge to cry. She looked around and everyone else was moving quickly and rushing to do things. Over the thrum, she could hear the special agent giving orders. She rushed over to the crowd.

In the center, there was several bodies laid on the floor, and several other things laid out. Arden was bent over one of them. She padded over to him, looking at the body.

"What happened?" She asked tentatively. Nobody had seen a case like this in some time. Murders were very rare in Zootopia, despite the large population. The wolf seemed to be calm about the whole ordeal, which unnerved Judy a bit.

"What does it look like?" He asked her, seriousness written all over his expression. He didn't seem to be in the mood for stupid questions like the one she had just asked, so she stayed quiet. Sighing, she stood and started to look around the building. Mammals were conversing, watching the security footage. Nick was nowhere to be seen. Arden stood and walked past her, and she didn't seem to notice this.

* * *

Arden's mind was swirling with questions. He still had no idea who had done it, but there were several officers injured, and the medics still hadn't gotten the bodies out of the plaza. His emotions were swirling as well. Anger, confusion, curiosity. They fought to break free of his calm demeanor, but the wolf held up. He wouldn't allow anymammal to see who he truly was.

The wolf sighed again and shook his head. He had hoped he was going to be able get in another lesson today, and then start on the firing range. His first month here had gone rather well, and now this was happening. It always happened. Someone died wherever he went, without fail. This was no different. He recognized the scent around the body, but could not put his claw on whose it was. It was someone he knew….

"Arden." A voice said. His ears perked and a smile spread across his face. His right hand woman and the best on his team, Liara Snowtail. He would never not recognize her voice. He wiped the smile from his muzzle and turned to face her.

"What is it, Snowtail?" He asked, holding himself as a professional would. His paws were behind his back and he stood up straight. The fox was shorter than him, but not too much shorter. Her fur was snow white. Her eyes glittered in the light as her tail swished back and forth.

From behind her, she pulled a box wrapped in blue wrapping paper, tied with a red sash. There was a bow in one corner, and a tag stuck to it.

"I thought that you might have forgotten your birthday today, so I went ahead and got you something." Despite her fur, Arden could see the blush that had formed. Her ears were tucked back and a small smile held on her lips.

Arden took the present gingerly. It wasn't very big, and looked almost like a box for a ring. He made up his mind then and there that it was not a ring. Using a claw, he ripped the paper down the side of it and pulled the rest of it off. The box itself was black with nothing but a name on it. It was his formal name, 'Special Reconnaissance Officer Ardenhu Fangman'.

"Well, this is fancy, isn't it?" He smiled a little. Lifting the rather stiff box open, he saw what was inside. A cross, ornately designed with a ruby in the center. What caught his eye was the dragons that were wrapped around the sides of it, their tail coming to meet at the bottom of the cross. He stared at it, rather stunned at the way it was designed.

He blinked a few times, his ear flicked, and a chill ran up his spine. He felt as if something was crawling and curling around him. Before he realized what was happening, he had pocketed the necklace, turned, and flipped the cheetah behind him onto the cold tile floor. He blinked again, still registering what just happened.

* * *

"What was with him?" Judy asked no one in particular. Her brows were furrowed and her ears erect with blood filling them, making them red.

"What was with who?" Nick suddenly said from beside her. This made the rabbit jump, literally. She had hopped a few feet back, her arms raised and ready to fight. "Whoa. Calm down Fluff." Nick said with raised arms.

"Sorry." She said as she relaxed. "It's just the Fangman was a little bristly when I asked what was going on when I got in this morning." She sighed.

Nick chuckled a little, holding a donut out to her. It was whole and had a carrot design on it. "I had some time before I got here, so I stopped by our favorite donut place and got us some."

"You did get Ben some, right?" Judy asked with a half smile as she took the donut from her partner. She took a bite out of it and nearly squealed at the taste of it. The mammal that made it, an antelope, was on of the most revered in the city.

"How could I not? The cheetah could smell a donut half a mile away." Nick joked. Judy nearly choked on her own donut.

"Nick! That's just rude!" Judy scolded. Her eyebrows drew down in a slightly playful anger. Nick's smile didn't deter, though. After a moment Judy's own smile returned. She giggled a little.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, if trying to find out who killed the officers the night before counted as such. Arden had started sporting a necklace that none of them had seen him wear before. It was rather intriguing, but Judy couldn't get close enough to see exactly what it looked like. She assumed it was a cross, but she wasn't sure.

Shrugging it off, she went back to writing down what she had been working on. Her and Nick had been doing their paperwork for almost an hour now, and she was almost done. Miraculously Nick had finished before her. She made a mental note to ask him about that later. Her ears perked up as Nick approached. Her nose twitched as a delightful smell wafted into their cubicle.

Her head turned as Nick rounded the corner. In his paws were a box of donuts and a drink carrier with the logo from their favorite coffee shop. She couldn't help but smile as the smell of her half-caff carrot mocha latte.

"Need a coffee break?" He asked sarcastically. As he held the cup holder down, Judy grabbed her latte and took a sip from it. She wasn't worried about its temperature due to the fast that it would have been cooled on the ride over to her.

"Thanks Nick." She told her fox companion. He shrugged and set the donuts down on her desk, out of the way of her stack of papers, and grabbed half of the good sized stack she still had left.

"We need to get done so we can get back and pack for tomorrow's trip." He said with a sideways glance. She nodded, still reveling in the taste of her coffee. When she was done with enjoying it so much, she hopped back into her chair and got back to work.

' _Well, now I can get this done in half the time.'_ Judy thought to herself. She couldn't help but let her mind wander. As she did, she didn't realize that time flew, and that her work was done faster than she thought it would have been.

* * *

 **Now, I know this is really late, and I know you all hate me for it, BUT! I have a very good reason for it.**

 **-silence ensues- What? You want me to explain? Not today, sorry.**

 **Anyway, REVIEWS!**

 **TheGreatWaff: So mysterious~! Ooooooo~. Lol IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM! Heh, thank you for the compliments.**

 **RebelMetalWolf: You should know exactly who it is. *dodges knife* STOP THROWING SHARP OBJECTS AT ME! *huffs* Anyway, I'll conspire with you later.**

 **BOOM, done! Now that that's over with, I'm doing to go get some sleep. My werds are slurink togethur. Ugh, I need slep, sheep, SLEEP! God, I'm going to bed….**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	5. Chapter 5: A New Villian

***sigh* Alright…. I'm finally well rested and back in business. I had some things to deal with and now I can finally get to writing again. But with school and things at home to deal with, my life is a little crazy.**

 **HOWEVER! I will not stop slaving away for those of you who actually care what I have to say and write. To those who do, thank you very much. I appreciate you. You are part of what keeps me sane. Not that I'm very sane to begin with, so….**

 **Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter and follow, favorite, maybe leave a review, and take that inspirational song head on! Today, I'm listening to Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. Great song by the way. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"Get down, now!" Arden began to yell. He had pulled his pistol out from his holster and had his back pressed against a reinforced steel desk. Nick hadn't had time to grab a weapon, so all he had was his person and a small pocket knife that he kept on his mammal at all times.

Having pressed his back against the same metal table that Arden was at, he grumbled to himself that he was worried about Judy. He had seen Judy jump behind the reception desk. Surprisingly, the desk was rather strong and resistant. A bullet whizzed by his head. The mammals shooting were using real guns with real bullets. Arden grunted beside him, but not in pain.

"Now I want to know how they got those guns." He growled lowly. Nick's ears twitched as a magazine clicked into place in the gun that the wolf held. "Let's see if I'm still as good as I remember."

"You're not planning on killing them, are you?" Nick asked. Arden looked over to him, surprise written on his features.

"No, the mag I just slipped in has sedative bullets in it." He told the fox. He chuckled a little bit before switching the paw to his left. Nick furrowed his brow.

¨Aren't you right pawed?¨ Nick asked the wolf. He nodded to him. ¨Yet you're using your left.¨ Again, the wolf nodded. Without another word, he turned the corner and started firing. His shots were spread out in time, as if he was taking precise aim at them in certain places. He had fired three times before he pulled back behind the table. The bullets that were whizzing by had stopped.

' _Did he just take them all out on his own?'_ Nick asked himself. His ears perked as a cry let out from the wolf. He gripped his left shoulder that was now bleeding freely. He grit his teeth, growling lowly.

"I guess there are more than I initially thought." he growled almost to himself. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Arden held his gun up and checked the magazine in it. It seemed to to be mostly full. He continued to grumble to himself as he shoved the mag back into his gun and took a look off the corner of the table. A bullet zipped by his nose and he snapped his head back behind the table.

"Sniper, second floor on the building across the street. About five hundred feet away. Far enough that I can't reach him with this." He held up his pistol for reference. "I need something like an assault rifle or a sniper." Just as he said that, a bullet ripped through the table just next to him. The both of them threw their bodies down to the floor.

Another shot rang out, but this one was a lot closer in origin than the one that had just put quite the hole in the table. Arden lifted his head and looked around, searching for the source of the shot. Turns out that Bogo had somehow found a sniper and taken out the one across the street.

Nick let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. They had been pinned for what felt like hours. ' _Wait, why didn't we get any backup?'_ Nick asked himself as he regained his thoughts. There had been several patrols already out, and he knew that someone had to have radioed them in.

As he finished his thought, several patrol cars pulled up and skidded to a stop. The fox chuckled to himself. Even his colleagues were late to get somewhere. Him and Judy would have been there much faster. Most likely due to the rabbit's sometimes reckless driving habits. He chuckled again.

"I want all of these mammals taken somewhere so they can be questioned when they wake up! Anyone who suffered injuries, get to the medical center! And someone go get that sniper!" Bogo roared in annoyance. It pulled everyone out of their stunned state and got them moving. Two rather large officers started down the road to go get the sniper, and any other started taking the bodies of the sleeping mammals away.

"Wilde, Hopps, are the two of you okay?!" Bogo roared. From behind a counter, Judy swung out and ran over to him.

"I'm okay." She looked over at Nick, seeming to check him for injuries. When her eyes found his legs, they widened. The fox finally looked down after having looked at this partner in confusion. He was bleeding. Not much, but enough to be noticed. As he realized it was there, he felt the stinging that affected the area around him. He gritted his teeth slightly.

Arden rose and began walking towards the medical center, holding his left shoulder. He had already holstered his weapon, it seemed, yet he didn't show any signs of being in pain. Not even the signs that his teeth were pressed together. Nick had to admit, the wolf was much tougher than he looked.

The fox finally took a look around. Initially, the gang of unidentified mammals had burst in and started shooting. There were five fatalities on the police side. All of them were different species. None of them Nick knew very well. And he knew everybody.

"Wilde, get to the medical center to get that patched up so it doesn't get infected. I don't need any more officers down than I already have." Bogo said as he passed the fox to help out with getting the wounded sniper into the questioning room. He lifted the jaguar easily, carrying him by the scruff of his neck.

With the help of Judy, Nick limped to the medical center, where a honey badger was gesturing for them to enter. She was rather energetic about it. It was odd. She was rather wide, yet moved like she was still in her younger days.

"Alright, what have we got here?" She asked more to herself than to the fox. She took his leg and looked at the wound. She made a sort of clicking sound as she did. "You just got grazed. You'll be fine as long as you walk on it some." She told them as she started grabbing supplies to clean the wound and patch it up. She was mumbling something to herself, but Nick didn't want to pry.

Once she was done and he was able to put some pressure on it, Nick walked back out into the main area, where mammals were bustling and trying to clean up. Janitors were cleaning up bullets and blood splatters, the larger mammals were carrying bodies with sullen faces. Even Judy looked downfallen.

Nick couldn't blame her though. With all the deaths happening lately, how could she not be a little down? Even he was feeling the weight of it deep under his 'mask' of placid emotionlessness.

"Well, let's get them some closure. They need to know." Arden was saying, a sling around his left arm. He was talking to one of the other officers, a rhino that Nick didn't recognize. He nodded sadly and walked away. "You two, I need you two to go home for now. You've probably some things to think about. Besides what you have to do tomorrow." The wolf said without turning to look at them.

The fox and bunny duo looked at each other and shrugged. They walked out of the precinct, Judy still keeping a watchful eye on Nick. He smiled a little wider. His partner was worried about him.

' _Maybe that's because you're her partner on the force.'_ He told himself sternly.

' _Yeah right.'_ Another side of him said, arguing. He imagined it to be immammalating Finnick. He shook his head slowly, not believing that he would have a voice in his head that sounded like his long time friend. Every now and then, pain would shoot up through his legs, making him wince.

* * *

On the other side of town….

"Well, it seems that it worked. Good, good." A rather raspy voice said, especially for such a young mammal. His hooded face held a smile, along with a scar. He was watching a screen, but it didn't illuminate his face any more than his muzzle.

He knew that the four he had sent were good at what they did, but they were dispensable. They knew this, and they knew he would terminate them if they talked. The main threat was incapacitated for the moment. The other would be more of a threat since he wasn't as injured. The mammal sneered to himself, knowing that the main threat would bounce back faster than most and would be back on his tail.

"Sir, what do we do while he's healing?" A large and rather bulky rhino asked him from behind. He was a subordinate, yet trusted by the mammal. Along with the lean and tall leopard, they were his two best operatives. He could trust them, and yet they trusted him, even though they didn't know what he looked like under the hood.

"We're going to continue our research on our little project." He said, coughing a few times. He had a plan. And he would carry it out no matter what it meant. His half cut off tail swayed lightly behind him. His ears twitched as he heard someone stepping as lightly as they could. He waited until he knew they were close enough to him, then whipped around, a knife in his paw. The offending mammal started to jump back, but was too late. The knife went straight through his shirt and into his chest.

The cheetah coughed, spilling blood onto the hooded mammals' muzzle and on his white hood. The smile on his face made him seem mad. He lifted his head a little, enough for the light to make his eyes glint a deep blue. The cheetah's eyes rolled back, and he fell back, lifeless. The hooded mammal pulled his knife out and wiped the blood off on the cheetah's clothes and slid it back into his cloak.

"Someone clean this mess up. I don't want to see or smell death in this room any more than I have to." He said as he gestured for mammals to move. Immediately, several mammals started moving to take care of the body. "If anyone else wants to try for my life, you're more than welcome. Just know that the outcome will be just the same as you just witnessed. A chorus of 'yes sir's rang in his ears, making his smile widen.

He chuckled to himself, knowing that they would stay loyal to him as long he kept up his reputation. It was rather easy to win someone over when he had promised them a better life. Most of the mammals that worked for him were off the streets. Most living in a box, without money, family that could take care of them, or anyone to call friend. He found it rather sad, though it didn't seem like he did. This made him smile even more. They all had their own freedom. On one condition. They could not reveal anything about their organization or their involvement with it.

If they did, and he found out about it, they would die. Right then, right there. No matter the circumstances.

* * *

 **Oh, hello again! I didn't see you there. Anyway, I have a new chapter for you all! And a warning. I have a new game, and it's awesome. Gonna need to spend a lot of time on it though….**

 **Ah whatever! I'll still have a new chapter out to you guys as soon as possible. Now, this one is a little longer and came later, but I think you'll like what I've done with the place (please tell if you do. I'd love to hear it).**

 **Now, ONTO THE REVIEWS!**

 **MetalFox2013: I'm glad you like it! And thank you for telling me. I already made the edit.**

 **RebelMetalWolf: You had better! Or you won't get anything more from me. *dodges several tomato's thrown from all of the viewers* I WAS KIDDING! WHY IS IT ALWAYS PROJECTILES!?**

 **Anywho, I hope you all liked what you read and hope you will wait patiently for me to finish my game. And then come back to you. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud…? Crap….**

 **May inspiration light you paths,**

 **Leon.**


	6. Chapter 6: Ashlynn

**Alright, so I finished my game, I started to replay another, and I swear, I have to keep at my school work. *sigh* Why do I have so many things going on in my life?!**

 **Anyway, I brought you guys another chapter! Yay! I hope you're all excited for it this time! It took me some time to make it because of some writers block. But, I was able to get this all out to you within a reasonable time. I'm going to be working on the next as soon as I can. Which means hours of my time spent slaving away for you guys's entertainment.**

 **Anywho, I hope you enjoy, favorite, follow, and maybe leave a review. Now, jam along to that inspirational song. Mine for today is Immortals by Fall Out Boy. *insert Big Hero 6 meme here***

* * *

NIck let out frustrated groan, having missed the target in front of him. He hadn't been able to focus all day. Saturday had been hectic for him and Judy both. Nick had gotten up, ready, and was over at Judy's an hour earlier than they had agreed they would meet. Unbeknownst to him, she had woken up an hour early anyway, so apparently it was all good.

Only it wasn't. When they got to his mother's, she had been both surprised and what seemed to be confused that Nick had brought Judy along with him. Though she had eventually accepted her as his friend. Inevitably, she had asked if they were mates, or something of the sort.

Even now, Nick began to blush at the thought of her being his mate. Of course he had considered it before, but the concept was just stupid. He knew she wasn't interested in him. She never would. He sighed and ejected the magazine out of the tranquilizer gun he was holding. He set it down and took off the goggles and earmuffs. He hung them back up, his eyebrows drawn.

"I know you could have done better, Wilde." The special agent told him as he passed. He looked up to a board that they had installed for scoring. Currently, Nick was still in third, with Bogo above him and Arden in first. The wolf had gotten a perfect score of one thousand. Every shot he had taken was a kill shot. Bogo had missed one shot by an inch.

"Yeah, sure…." Nick trailed off as he walked up the stairs that led to the ground level floor. Most everyone was out today, so there was barely anyone in the lobby. Even Clawhauser wasn't there.

' _Must be on his lunch break or something like that.'_ He sighed a little bit. No one to talk to, and Judy was elsewhere. He felt as if he was being ignored. It wasn't like he was lonely, he had plenty of friends to talk to. Yet those he held dear to him he couldn't talk to right at the moment. He wanted to tell someone what he was feeling. Anyone except for Judy. He loved her with all his heart, but if she knew, his relationship would be ruined with her.

He shook his head vigorously, not letting that get him down. He had other things to worry about. His mother was still in good health despite her age. He still didn't know the whereabouts of his father. The current case didn't interest him in the least. He had nothing better to do, so he headed towards the showers.

He heard a shower running before he reached for the door. When he walked in, he could only see the special agent's duffle out and open. His clothes were laying out, folded and neat. Nick sighed and walked to his locker. He pulled out his clothes and laid a few towels next to them. He pulled his clothes off and walked into the showering area, stepping up to his shower. Conveniently, it was right next to the one the special agent used. And he was still there.

"What happened in the range today?" The wolf said, making the fox's eyebrows raise slightly in surprise. "I know you could have done better than that."

"I have a lot on my mind." NIck told his instructor. It was true, he had several things going through his mind.

"You need to calm your mind so you can focus. If you can't focus, your performance will drop. And so will your score." The wolf told him, rubbing at the fur on his arm. Nick nodded and turned the water on. It ran down his fur, already warm. He relished in the feeling before he grabbed his shampoo and starting to wash himself.

Next to him, the water stopped and Arden walked out of the showering area. After a little bit of shuffling, he heard the door open and close, leaving him alone to shower.

* * *

Arden stepped out of the locker room with a sigh. He had not been able to really relax in a while now. It was starting to make his neck hurt with how much looking up and down at mammals. He needed a massage of all things.

He wasn't very old by canine standards nor universal standards. Some thought he was older than he was. Yet they were wrong about his age every time. They thought this because he never acted his age.

' _Enough about other mammal's opinions. I need to focus on who this mammal behind the attack yesterday is."_ He thought as his eyebrows drew in. Nick had already knocked off several mammals he had grown suspicious of. Surprisingly, the fox knew a lot about the ins and outs of criminal activity. He was still suspicious about that, but Judy said that he had changed.

He shook his head and started counting heads in his mind, ticking off the mammals he had already accounted for. He knew his family wasn't in this. They were far from Zootopia. This reminded him he needed to call them soon. He sighed and walked out of the precinct. As he did, he nearly ran into another wolf. Without thinking, he stepped back, grabbing the wolf and pinning him to the ground under him.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The grey wolf yelled from below Arden. He blinked several times before letting the wolf get up. He brushed himself off before holding onto his wrists, which Arden had been gripping rather tightly.

"Sorry about that. I'm a little jumpy today." Arden said, looking down the road. He was watching a lion walk into a gas station. He was looking around from under a hoodie. The wolf's eyes narrowed suspiciously. The gas station wasn't too far away for him to walk to, and it was the one he normally stopped at to fill his car up after leaving the precinct. He knew the moose that worked there, and they were good friends.

"Jumpy my tail." The other wolf grumbled. He walked off and Arden took a moment to look at the back of his hoodie. It looked like he was part of a band of some kind. Under the band name, which he didn't care to read, was a name. Rebel.

He snapped out of his trance as a loud alarm was set off in the precinct. His head snapped back to the gas station that lion had walked into. He started to run, knowing exactly what was happening. That lion that had walked into the gas station had attempted a robbery. A muffled gunshot rang out from the gas station, and Arden ran faster. In mere moments he was there, kicking in the bullet proof glass. The lion was startled at his sudden entrance as he tried to find a way out. This left just enough time for the wolf to jump at him from an all fours position.

His weight knocked the lion over, and the gun clattered away from them. The lion reacted quickly, scratching Arden's face and leaving three gashes in cheek. The wolf growled, pinning the lion's arms to the floor.

"Listen to me! I don't care what you just did to me, but I despise the fact that you killed an innocent mammal!" He was furious. He had never reacted to anything like this before. And he knew it. Nothing was able to get to him this easily. It wasn't normal.

Using his knowledge of pressure points, the wolf lifted a paw and struck a place in the neck. The lion's eyes widened before they rolled back and he passed out. Arden let out a sigh and picked him up as he stood up. He heard shouts from outside, and he began walking out. His arm was burning from the wound, but it didn't feel as if it had torn. He tossed the lion over to one of the officers that he knew could carry him and then some and touched his face. It was bleeding, but nothing excessive. He sighed. He would have to patch it up somehow.

"Arden." Bogo's voice pierced through his train of thought. "Thanks for preventing anything else from happening."

Arden blinked a few times. "There was one casualty. The store clerk was shot. Don't think he was able to make it." His voice was calm and cold. He had done these things before, and this was no different. This was just another thing in life. Mammals were desperate for things and they would go to these extents to get what they wanted. Sometimes it was money, sometimes it was power. But no matter what it was, they needed to be stopped from taking rash measures to get it.

"We'll take care of it. You go get some rest. You look like you need it." Bogo told him as he walked into the store to investigate how bad it was. Arden mumbled a thanks and walked back to his car. He needed to get home, have a shower, maybe a drink or two. Maybe go to the bar for those drinks. He had nothing better to do.

Not too long later, he was sitting at a bar with a bloody mary in his paw. He hadn't taken but a sip of it, and he already felt sick. Not because of the alcohol, but of the recent events that had transpired. He sighed for the third time since he sat down.

"Long day?" The barkeeper, a cheetah, asked. He was cleaning a shot glass with a rag. He inspected it, and set it under the counter.

"Something like that." He took another sip from the glass. "Crazy things go on in my life. Not that I mind. It's just that I'd like to have a break every now and then from everything."

"Oh, you poor thing." A voice said from beside him. Looking from the corner of his eye, he saw a vixen sitting there. She was snow white, her eyes a very pretty blue. "Well, being a cop must be hard, huh?" Her smile unnerved him.

"And how do you know that?" He asked skeptically. He stared back down at his drink, the blush that had started to form in his cheeks growing darker the longer he looked at her.

"I saw you at the precinct today." She set the soda she had on a coaster that was nearby. "Hey barkeep? How about a rum for my friend here?" She asked sweetly. Instantly he grabbed a bottle and poured some of the amber liquid into a glass, then set it in front of Arden. "My name is Ashlynn. Nice to meet you."

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 **Okay! Now that that's done, I hope some of you realized that Rebel is the wolf that bumped into Judy. Wait...you didn't? Crapbaskets….**

 **Anyway, I want to thank RebelMetalWolf for the fantastic help and support as my beta that isn't a beta. Go check out what he has to offer! And before any of you ask, yes, Rebel is his character. He asked very nicely for me to put him in.**

 **Besides that, REVIEWS!**

 **RebelMetalWolf: Good. They better be lol. Thank you thank you for the compliment.**

 **TheGreatWaff: No. I know I'm going to get hate for this, but the Destiny games never really caught my fancy. I was playing Monster Hunter Stories. I really liked it, too!**

 **Alright, that over with! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get some coffee and sit here listening to random songs while writing the next chapter!**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	7. Chapter 7: The Discovery

**Okay, so I just finished up with one of my other games that I bought, and it was great. I will be getting another one in a week, so I'll be playing that for some time. BUT I will be sure to keep writing so you guys aren't let down.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. I actually took some time to write it and think about what I wanted to happen. So please, if you'd like, favorite, follow, maybe leave a review, and turn up that inspirational song. Mine for today is Titanium by David Guetta featuring Sia**.

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"Okay. That hurt…." Judy said as she was thrown to the mat of the fighting ring. Arden had been really spaced out, and had done what he had been doing to all of the officers. Using his reflexes instead of fighting normally. It was making for some painful training. He had something on his mind, and he wouldn't tell anyone about it either.

"Sorry…." Arden said as he offered a paw to her. She took it and stood, rubbing her neck. She had been coming at him from every angle, and still couldn't find a way to pierce his defense. Even from behind he seemed to be able to predict what she was about to do. Not even Nick could land a blow on him.

She groaned and jumped off the ring. "You're all dismissed for today." Arden said as she landed. He seemed to be mumbling to himself in the ring when she swiveled her ears back to him. She couldn't pick up what he was saying, though.

As she stepped into the girl's locker room, several of the mammals were dejected. It seemed that they were really improving. And yet all of them were thrown to the floor in a single sweep. No one had been able to get very close, and it almost made Judy lose confidence. Almost, but no dice. She would never lose confidence in him. He just needed time to think. Yeah, that was it.

Though, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that was bothering him. She had always been curious about him. What was it that drove him? What is it that makes him so good at what he does? Why was he chosen to train the ZPD of precinct one in particular? She had so many questions, but no time to ask them. She sighed and began to get ready to take a shower. Normally by the time she got hers, everyone else had already gotten one. Although, this time there was a pure white fox in there. She seemed to be lost in thought, mindlessly washing her fur.

Ignoring that fact, Judy walked up to her shower, specially made for her size. It happened to be right next to the fox. It wasn't that she was nervous about her. She just wasn't used to having anyone else in the shower with her, much less right next to her. As she started to wash her fur, her mind wandered. It focused on her partner. She imagined him pinning her against a wall, breathing heavily on her. His teeth visible and pearly white, gleaming as they neared her.

" _Are you scared, little bunny?"_ She imagined him saying to her, his tongue sliding up her neck and to the base of her ear. It sent a shiver up her spine. He began to nip at the base of her ear, which sent shockwaves of pleasure through her.

She was snapped out of her daydream by the white fox, who had been calling her name for a little bit now. She shook her head and looked up at her.

"You okay? You sound short of breath." She asked. Her face didn't seem like it had a drop of concern on it. Judy looked back down and resumed washing her fur.

"Yeah, just the day catching up to me, I guess." She lied. Her ears fell down her back, and she grabbed one, beginning to wash it.

"I know when a bunny is lying." She chuckled a little, which sent a shiver up Judy's spine. Her eyes widened and her head napped back to look at the fox, who was idly washing her tail.

"H-how do you know that?" Judy asked nervously. Her face had flushed and she could feel her cheeks burning.

"Well, I saw you in the ring today. You seemed fine after you got out, despite the hurt that Arden had put on you when he slammed you into the mat. That and you zoned out just a few minutes ago." She smiled and her crystal blue eyes turned to her. Judy looked back down and her cheeks got even hotter than they had been. "Thinking of someone special?"

Judy became nervous, which wasn't normal. She couldn't lie to this fox. She would know the instant that she did. "S-something like that." Her voice was shaky and broken.

"I see. It wouldn't happen to be that one Nick, would it?" Her smile grew as Judy's eyes widened. "Figured. I won't tell him, cause I know you don't want him to know. But I know how you feel. My husband and I felt the same way before we got married. He was just so cute about it, too." He giggled as she thought about it.

"Really? That's nice…." Her voice trailed off as her let her ears flop across her back. She wanted to think like that with Nick, but she knew it wasn't possible. He was a fox, she was a bunny. It wasn't going to happen. Ever.

"But, you know, with someone as stubborn as Jack Savage, you just can't help it." She shrugged and ran her tail under the warm water.

"Wait, THE Jack Savage? The famous secret agent, and the first buck to join the ZBI?!" She shouted, turning towards the white fox. "THAT Jack Savage?" The fox began to giggle. She nodded and Judy was left dumbfounded. She had heard about interspecies couples, seen a few, but they were always within the same type of mammal. Never had she seen someone in the canid family married to a lagomorph such as Jack. It was just unheard of.

"Yes. That one. Quite surprising isn't it?" Her voice was calm and collected, as if she'd recited it several times before. That left Judy even more confused. Who was she? How did she get the stoic and cold Jack Savage that she had been inspired by as a kit to fall for her? How could Judy do that to Nick?

The rest of her shower was taken in silence. She finished quickly and got her off duty clothes on. A simple t-shirt with a pair of pleated jogging shorts. She meant to walk home instead of take one of the squad cars. She locked her things in her locker and walked out of the showers. Almost no one was out in the lobby as she swung her keys around one finger idly. Her mind wandered towards what the white fox had said to her about her idol. As she thought about it, she never did ask for the fox's name. She shook it off of her mind and walked onto the sidewalk, stopping as the same grey wolf she had bumped into almost a week ago.

She watched as his eyes flicked over to her and flashed with recognition. He kept walking though, and Judy was too deep in thought to call out to him. She headed in the opposite direction that he had gone. She needed to get home and lay down for a little while. After all, she had tomorrow off and was going to go shopping with Fru Fru.

The familiar dusty smell of her room snapped her out of her thoughts. She set her keys down on the table, along with her phone and earbuds. She sighed and laid down on her bed, her legs hanging over the side.

"Who am I kidding? I can't deny it. I love him. I'm in love with a fox." She said to herself, knowing that her neighbors were out at the moment. They had left a note on it like they always did. With Nick on her mind, she grabbed some clothes and changed into something more comfortable for sleeping. Once she was dressed, she grabbed the remote to the tv that Nick had helped her bring in and turned it on. There wasn't much on, but she turned it to some nature channel talking about some new species that had just recently revealed themselves to the outside world. Some kind of lizard thing with wings, from what she could see. She wasn't paying much attention to it.

Just as her mind started to wander, and knock came to her door. She got up and looked through the peephole to see a rustic red fox standing at her door. A smirk adorned his beautiful face and his amazing emerald eyes. She shook off her excitement and opened the door, leaning against it.

"Nick! To what do I owe the pleasure?" She said with a slight smirk. He looked as if he was about to laugh at what she had said, and vomit at the same time.

"Do I need a reason to come and see my partner? Besides, the special agent is with me as well." From around the corner, Arden poked his head out. He looked displeased that he had to be here.

"Oh. Well, come in I guess. It's not very big, but we all might fit." Arden came in first, pulling the chair out from her table and sat it in backwards, facing the bed. Nick sat on said bed next to Judy. "So, why are both of you here again?"

"I have something that I need to tell both of you. And to make it clear, this is just between the three of us." He looked at them both with a seriousness in his eyes. They both nodded. "Good. Now then, I want to know how long you two have been working together, first off."

The fox and bunny duo exchanged looks and shrugged at each other. "About five and a half years, why?" Judy told him. The wolf seemed to turn this over in his mind for a minute.

"Then that means the two of you know each other well. Good. Anyway, what I want you to know is that the murders that have occurred recently have been executed by a group of mammals called the EOZ. In other words, the Echo's of Zootopia." His voice became sort of grave and eerie. The room seemed to become filled with electricity. The hairs on the back of Judy's neck rose when he mentioned that name.

Arden's ear flicked as he heard the tv, and he turned towards it. His eyes widened substantially as he saw the lizard like creature that was talking to the reporter on screen.

"The dragons are back…." The wolf said in a low voice, barely audible to Judy's ears. She took another look at the tv and the realization hit her. That lizard like thing was a dragon. A mythical and very powerful creature, able to breath fire and break steel bars without trying.

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 **Okay, and that's chapter seven! Did you like it? Yes, no, maybe so? Maybe leave a review and tell me. I'll do what I can to respond to you.**

 **Now then, REVIEWS!**

 **RebelMetalWolf: I will notify you of anything I need from you as soon as I can. Thank you again for your continued support.**

 **Well, now that that's over, I can focus on the next chapter for a week and a half. Hopefully I will have it done by then.**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	8. Chapter 8: Dragons and Rabbits

**Alright! This is good! This is good! I finished the new Pokemon game (which was pretty good, to be honest) in less time than I thought I would, and wrote most of this chapter in one day! Go me! Okay, so I'm a little late. I need to figure out a game plan so you guys can have chapters a lot sooner than I've been putting out.**

 **Anyway! I hope you all follow, favorite, and maybe leave a review telling me what you think! Today's song of inspiration is Silhouette by Owl City! Now, enjoy this chapter!**

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"What do you mean by 'back'?" Nick asked. His ear twitched slightly, and he brought a paw up to scratch at it. The wolf continued to watch the tv. Though he seemed to have heard what was said.

"I mean that the mythical creatures that you heard about as a kit, are real." He said as an ear swiveled towards the two on the bed. "I'm not surprised though. I actually looked into something like this a long time ago. It was just a matter of time before they came back and revealed themselves." His tail swished happily, though his face showed no emotion.

Nick was still rearing from the revelation that something that his mother used to scare him with was real. It was just something out of a fairy tale. Something that couldn't really be explained by science. No one in their right mind believed that they could have ever existed. No one had ever seen one. The only inkling that anyone had were ancient drawings of them on stone caves that were recorded and shown in museums.

Nick sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to get a grip on the current situation. His mind was clouded with Judy's scent, which for some reason permeated the entire room with hints of Ardenhu's. Then he had the revelation of an old wives' tale. He jolted as Judy touched his arm.

"You okay? You're sweating pretty bad." She asked, her eyebrows tilted up in concern. Nick nodded, giving a short explanation. She let go of his arm and turned back toward Ardenhu. Though he could still feel her eyes on him.

"Anyway. As I was saying, this group of mammals is extremely dangerous. They've been operating for some time now, and they started around the time you two stopped Bellwether. She was working with them." His serious tone returned, and the two snapped back to attention. "She was working with them. They're extremists. Which spells trouble for us all. The ZBI has already been notified as well as Bogo and any other higher ups of the ZPD. I was cleared to tell you two based on how well you work together."

The amount of information that had just been spilled made Nick's head start to hurt. It was all this cloudiness and confusion that made it hurt so much. It wasn't like he couldn't process any of it. It was the amount that he had to process. Especially when he couldn't think straight when Judy was around.

"So, what you're saying is that this new organization is sort of like that one group we took down. Man, what was the name of that group?" Judy asked herself. Her eyebrows drew down in thought. She began to chew the side of her finger.

"The Cleansing. I was there. Undercover, but I was there. I took that blast from that grenade so you two could keep going to stop James." Ardenhu said to the bunny. Her ears shot up and she looked at him with caution.

"When did you make such a good recovery? I haven't seen anyone come back from that kind of blast. Ever." She asked, amazed. It seemed that she believed it was something that could only happen in movies and the such.

"It's amazing what top notch medicine and treatment can do." He chuckled lightly. It sent a shiver through Nick's back. This caused his fur to fluff out. Judy looked to him as his neck, tail, arms, and legs tripled in size. This caused Judy to start snickering at him. He just let out a long sigh and laid back onto the bed, bringing his paws to rest under his head.

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Over the next few days, things went rather smoothly at Precinct One. Criminals were brought in almost every day now. It was starting to look up for everyone. Especially with the holiday rolling around. It was getting that time of year where the climate control systems would get turned onto the colder temperatures and hibernation would take effect. Not to mention canine mating season. Which always hit Nick like a truck with urges.

For him it was odd, though. Even when he was out and about looking for something to get for Judy, the vixens never really interested him that much. He never could tell why. Perhaps because he wanted Judy to be his instead? Who knew? He never really payed any mind to it, though. It made it a little easier for him that way.

Nick sighed for the tenth time as he looked through the clothes that were hanging on racks in front of him. He was in the Rabbit section of the store, which put him out of place and made him even more nervous than he had been. He knew he was being eyed by the rabbits that were in the store. It wasn't like he was hard to miss. He was taller than a lot of the things there.

"Excuse me, sir, is there anything in particular you're looking for?" A female asked from beside him. Without looking he could tell it was a vixen. His nose twitched several times, taking in the scent. He blinked a few times and turned to her. She was pure white and very pretty. It was odd to see an arctic fox around these parts of Zootopia.

What caught his attention was that she smelled heavily of the special agent back at the ZPD. It was odd because the wolf didn't seem like the type to have someone around just for one night of pleasure. He was calm and collected. If Nick was being honest with himself, he might as well not have had pleasurable company in his entire life. And he was older than what he looked.

"No, but thank you. I sort of know what I'm looking for." He said, turning back to the article of clothing he was looking at. It was a bunny sized dress in a nice emerald color. Judy had said it was her favorite color.

"Okay. Well, if you need anything, just ask me or any of the other mammals around here." She gave him a smile and walked away, her tail swishing happily. He blinked a few times and looked back down at the dress in his paw. It wasn't all that much, but apparently it was made by someone with extreme talent. He had read that she had been shamed for making a piece of clothing that some big name clothes expert that judged others based on their ability.

He shook the thought from his head and walked to one of cashiers. He laid it down and pulled out some money from his wallet. He didn't say anything to the cashier, even though he had asked him a question. As he walked away, he heard 'stupid fox' come from the buck. He stopped and turned back. From his pocket he pulled out his badge.

"Not that it matters, but I'm not some stupid fox." Nick said, a smug smile on his face. The buck froze, only making Nick smile further. He turned and walked out with the bag in his paw. He had about two weeks until Christmas. That was more than enough time to get his present ready. A ping came from his phone in a familiar tone. Instantly he knew it was Judy. He pulled out his phone and looked at the text she had sent. It read, 'Hey, Bogo wants you to come down to the station. I'm headed that way now.'

He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and ran back to his car. About ten minutes later he was walking into the station with his paws in his pockets. He had no background info on what the chief wanted with him and Judy, but it must be important to call them in at such and hour.

They were all standing in front of the reception desk, including the special agent. The wolf's ear twitched and he looked over his shoulder then back to the desk. As he walked back up, he could see that they were looking at someone, not something. He hadn't noticed the panther in front of the special agent, which was rather odd.

"That's all I know. I swear!" He was cowering in fear as he stared up at the wolf. It made Nick wonder what had occurred while he was away. "I was told to come here with the package! That's all they told me!"

"We've established that." Ardenhu said. "Apparently, this guy came in here with a bomb in a box and tried to give it to me. Not a good idea especially when I know what a bomb made with sulfur smells like." The wolf shook his head at the panther, motioning to the diffused bomb on the desk. He could smell the large amount of sulfur coming from it as well, though his nose probably wasn't as sharp as the wolf's.

"He's also told us he works for the EOZ. Asked us to put him under protection so they couldn't kill him. Didn't quite make sense to any of us." Bogo explained in short. He snorted and the panther flinched a little.

"Just what did you do to this guy?" Nick asked as he quickly glanced over to the buffalo. Bogo snorted again.

"I jumped on him to keep him from running." Judy said. Nick chuckled a little at that. "What's so funny?"

"The fact that you scare even top-of-the-food-chain predators with that cute face." He teased. Surprisingly, she didn't really react to him calling her cute. Normally she would. It sort of worried him. He 'tabbed' it in his thoughts to ask about later, yet stared down at the panther. After kneeling, he put on his usual smile. "Now, is there anything else you can tell us?"

"No! There isn't! I swear!" He yelled. He looked terrified. Nick sighed again. He had too many things on his mind to deal with this joker.

He pulled a rather large roll of money and showed it to the panther. "How about now?" The panther went quiet at that as he watched the wad of money being waved in his face.

"I might know a few things that you could use." He said as he looked up to the fox. Nick smiled, knowing it would work.

"Tell us, and this is all yours." The panther's eyes widened, and the bait had been taken.

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 **Whew! That took a while! Now, I know some of you have questions as to who the hell is the EOZ, but fear not! You will know soon enough. Hopefully. God I need more coffee.**

 **Anywho, REVIEWS!**

 **GhostWolf88: DRAMAAAA~! And mystery is always good. I will be including more of Mr. Dragon in the next chapter. And you have a sharp eye, good sir! ;)**

 **RebelMetalWolf: Again, I appreciate what you do for me. And I'm glad you like it! I try so hard to make good stuff for you guys.**

 **MrAndersIversen: Thank you and no worries! Things happen! Oh, you want more? You want MORE?! Here it is lol.**

 **There we go! All done! Now that that's over. I'm gonna get some sleep, coffee, and a crapton of words on documents for the next chapter. Cause baby it's gonna be big!**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	9. Chapter 9: Love and Death

Okay, so this chapter didn't come as early as it should have, but what I do have to say is Merry Christmas! I wanted to do something a little special for those of you that were waiting for something to happen, so I did it. You'll have to find out by reading the chapter, though!

Anywho, I hope you like this chapter. Favorite, drop a follow, maybe even leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter. Now then, put on that inspirational song for today! Mine is gonna be Indestructible by Disturbed.

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Judy slapped her paws together as she set her last bag down. Her and Nick had been assigned to help out in Tundra Town due to all the hibernation. Ardenhu had been sent with them, and he had brought a friend with him. One that Judy had never seen before, but Nick seemed to recognize her. He didn't say anything about it, but he seemed to recognize her.

It was hibernation season, and most of the larger mammals such as the bears had gone into hibernation. The Tundra Town district needed more enforcement. What made the trip even better was that Fru Fru had helped them out by lending them a couple of rooms for the two. The only problem was that most everything was for mammals larger than what they were.

¨Ow!¨ Nick shouted as a loud bang sounded. Judy turned to look at him and saw that there was a box next to him. It looked like it was heavy, even by his standard. He seemed to be okay but he was holding his left paw. ¨That thing is heavy! What is in this thing?¨

¨Well, why don't we open it up and see?¨ Judy asked. Nick shrugged and cut the tape with his claw. Judy's nose began to twitch in anticipation. As he pulled the box open and grabbed what was inside. It was a bottle of what looked like wine or brandy of some kind. Judy raised an eyebrow at it.

¨It's from Fru Fru.¨ Nick said as he picked up a letter that was at the top of the huge pile of packing peanuts. Judy walked over and began to dig around inside it. She found a few things that she could call useful. A portable heater, a few frozen dinners, and some other commodities. It made Judy giggle. It was ironic, the fact that the daughter of a mob boss was friends with a cop.

Nick had already put the bottle of alcohol into the mini-fridge along with the frozen dinners. Judy sighed and looked at the single bed that was had been provided. For them, it was entirely too big. But for a mammal of Ardenhu's stature, it was almost a queen sized bed. With both of them being small class mammals, it was rather big. Especially for Judy.

Not to mention the fact that she was extremely nervous having to sleep next to Nick. Just thinking about it made her fidget. She felt sweat roll down her cheek as she pulled the mini heater over to the wall to plug it in. Once she did and looked up, Nick was gone. She blinked and figured he was in the bathroom. With a little struggle, she managed to climb onto the bed and flop down.

"Why, oh why do I have to love that stupid fox?" She whispered to herself. "With his big, green eyes, fluffy and soft fur, floofy tail…." She trailed off, not realizing that Nick was right there. "Oh, Nick…. Why do you have to be so close, yet so far away…?" She asked.

When she opened her eyes again, Nick was right above her, a smile across his muzzle. Judy's eyes went wider than they ever had.

"How much of that...did you hear?" She asked. She figured she knew the answer, but wanted to know from him.

"I heard all of it." He said as he let his smile slip and breathed a sigh. He sat back and looked at her when she had turned to sit in front of him. Judy's cheek were on burning. She was so nervous that she was shaking slightly. Nick sighed again. "Look, we need to talk about this."

Judy nodded yet kept her mouth shut. She let her eyes fall to her legs. She stayed like that for some time. It felt like time was passing so slowly while they sat there. Neither of them spoke, made a move, or anything of the sort.

Nick suddenly let out a sigh, causing Judy to flinch. "Look, Judy, I know how you feel. You're scared, confused, nervous, and everything else in between." Judy's ears seemed to flop even lower than they had been already. "I've felt that for some time as well." The rabbits' hope seemed to be cracking and on the verge of shattering.

"I can guess why…." Her voice was full of sorrow without even a sliver of hope. Nick scoffed lightly, and her sense of hope cracked ever more.

"I'll bet you you can't." Judy looked at him with slight anger. She gave him a look that told him that she was being serious. "I know, I know." He let the smile that had adorned his muzzle fall. "But...you don't need to be. How did you put it? 'Why did I have to fall in love with a stupid fox?' Well, why did I have have to fall in love with a dumb bunny?" He said, a small yet hopeful smile across his muzzle.

Judy looked up to him with amazement and felt her hope restore itself tenfold. She began to tear up, a smile appearing on her own muzzle. With amazing speed, she slammed into Nick with a hug. She heard him let out a pained gasp before they hit the bed.

"Jeez. Didn't know you could move that fast." Nick chuckled and pulled her ever closer to him. They both began to laugh when they let each other go. Judy let out a sigh of relief. Tears of joy flowed down her already wet cheeks. She sat back and looked up to him.

"So...what now?" She asked him. He shrugged with an awkward smile across his muzzle. Nick and Judy both jumped as a loud thump hit the wall in the next room. A loud yell was heard, as well as gunshots.

"Fuck!" They heard Ardenhu yell. Without another word they duo jumped off the bed and out into the cold, despite being in light clothes. The door to their apartment was wide open and a limp panther at the foot of it. He was holding a wound in his stomach and reaching for a gun. Quickly Judy kicked it away from him. Nick ran into the next room, trying to help Ardnehu.

"Get back! I've got this. There's a hospital not too far from here. I can make it in time, I know it." The wolf picked up the arctic fox that he had been leaning over and near jumped out the door and started running. He was fast, too. With that amount of speed, he could probably match a cheetah step for step. Within a few seconds he had turned the corner and was gone.

Thinking fast, Judy ran back into their apartment and grabbed her keys. "Get in." She told Nick. He nodded and jumped into the cruiser. Without another word, the rabbit pulled out of the parking lot and followed Ardenhu´s trail. Nick pushed one of the buttons to turn the flashers and siren on so they could get there faster. Cars began moving out of their way almost instantly.

After a few minutes, they reached the hospital. As fast as she could Judy stopped the car and they both ran in as fast as they could. Arden was already in there, staring down the hallway as doctors and nurses with tasks meaningful or meaningless. The duo padded up behind the wolf. Nick touched his shoulder so he didn't round on the two of them. He was breathing heavily yet he didn't seem to notice.

"Ardenhu?" Judy asked. His ear flicked in response. "Are you okay?" He gave a short nod in response. Without a word, he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down while putting his head in his paws. He seemed to be emotionally broken down. Nick jolted as his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at Judy with concern.

"Hello? Chief?" He said into the phone. Judy didn't care to listen to the conversation any further as she sat down next to her instructor. Nothing had ever gotten to him this bad. He seemed a stone block when it came to emotions. No reaction out of him whatsoever. Judy couldn't blame him, though. He was trained to be that way.

"She'll be okay." Judy tried to comfort him. The only response out of him was a flick of his ear to indicate that she had been heard. Without warning, the wolf stood up and walked out of the hospital, a deadly gleam in his eyes. He pulled out his phone and typed in a number.

"I need you at my apartment asap. No excuses." He ended the call and continued to walk. Judy followed in silence. She rubbed her arms at the cold. She blinked as a jacket was draped over her. She looked up to find Nick there smiling down at her. She smiled right back.

"This seemed to have really gotten to him." The fox whispered to her. She nodded and followed the wolf onto his apartment. Chief Bogo was there talking with one of the investigators. Paramedics were kneeled over the body at the foot of the door. They left Ardenhu with Bogo and went into their own apartment. Nothing this serious had ever happened in their career but it had in their instructors. They doubted those happenings had gotten to him as badly as this did. It just didn't seem that it would.

Judy looked over to Nick as she shut the door to their apartment, making sure that Bogo would leave them alone for the time being. Exhaustion overcame her as she reached the bed that the fox had been sitting on. She flopped into his legs and went limp as she was lifted into Nick's arms. She let herself melt into his warmth. Her mind slipped and she fell into sleep where lands of bliss and other things overcame her.

* * *

Booyah! I got it done, and on Christmas too! That's not exactly a good thing, but I got it done! So, did you like what I did? Maybe leave a review and tell me.

Now, to answer your reviews!

MrAndersIversen: You're hungry, huh? WELL HAVE SOME OF THIS HOLIDAY CHAPTER! *throws new chapter at you* SATISFIED YET?!

Guest: Irony at its best, amiright?

And that's all for now! I hope you will all cope with me as my mind will be distracted with the new fic I will be working on along with this one, and I will be tending to my heart as my new gf will be shooting arrows with heart shaped arrowheads through it.

May inspiration light your paths,

Leon


	10. Chapter 10: Dragons' Current Nest

**Yay! New chapter is finally done! I can't believe how much time it takes me to come up with something like this. I wish I had better ideas for this kind of thing. I'm still in the buildup for the huge operation...did I say that out loud…?**

 **Anyway, I hope you all this. Favorite, follow, perhaps leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter and what you would like to see in the next on? Anyway, today's inspirational song is technically four. They're the Fated Four themes from Monster Hunter Generations. Now, enjoy the chapter and Happy (albeit late) New Year!**

* * *

"Oh, that is so cute!" A female cheetah let out as Nick, Judy, and Ardenhu walked through the streets of Tundra Town. The fox and rabbit had opted to take heavy jackets. For some reason the wolf hadn't taken anything save for light clothes that he was wearing. Though they were all black. He seemed to be fine though.

The cheetah was standing next to who Nick thought to be her boyfriend. A small smile made its way to his muzzle. The world was getting better. Though something did feel off. The fox somehow felt like what had been happening was about to get even worse. Which left him with all the more to worry about now that he and Judy were together, officially.

"You two, I need you to follow me." Ardenhu said. It was strange due to the fact that he hadn't said anything as they walked. Nick looked at Judy and they both shrugged, complying. He headed into a rather fancy hotel. It definitely wasn't the one he had decided to switch to. The two officers had been to it. The wolf walked to the front desk and asked where someone was. Neither of them could tell what he had said, for they were not within earshot. The wolf nodded and thanked the receptionist, walking towards one of the hallways. Again the two followed him.

He stopped at a door labeled with a fanciful seventeen on it. He knocked four times and stepped back. Almost a minute later, the door opened to reveal a rather large figure who ducked under the door frame to see who it was.

"Ah, I figured you would come to visit me soon enough. And I see you've brought friends. Come in. I'll have some tea ready soon." The figure said. The bunny and fox looked at each other, confused, but followed Ardenhu in nonetheless. When they got into the very expensive looking apartment, they realized just who the figure was in the doorway. It was the dagon that the three had seen on Judy's T.V. back at her apartment. His scales were a vibrant red and seemed to sheen in the light. Judy marveled at him, and Nick seemed astonished that the tales were true. The dragon's smile that he gave the two seemed genuine and sincere. Nick could see his wings tucked in behind him, a bone peaking out at the top of each of them.

"Now then. Shall we have tea?" As the dragon finished his sentence, a tea kettle began to whistle. He walked into the adjoining kitchen and pulled the kettle off the stove, pouring the steaming liquid into five cups. Nick's brow furrowed and he thought this was strange as there was only four of them. Just as the dragon was setting the cups down at the table, the door opened to reveal another dragon. Obviously female, she stopped as she saw the three others in the room. She looked to the other dragon and relaxed almost immediately.

"Now, I must say, Arden. You have surrounded yourself with quite the talented mammals." The male dragon said. He chuckled as Arden shot him a rather playful look. It made Nick's brows furrow even more.

"That's a lot coming from you, Kryen. Your whole family are leaders of the Aubade Clan." The wolf smiled as Kryen rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, well." He trailed off as the female dragon hugged him from behind. Kryen looked up and smiled. "Oh, where are my manners. My name is Kryentesian Malchovent. But please, call me Kryen." He extended his hand to Nick. Warily the fox shook it.

"Nick Wilde." He simply said. He was still unsure what of these two and their intentions.

"Judy Hopps. Pleasure." Judy said as she shook the dragon's hand.

"Ah, but the pleasure is all mine. This is my lovely wife, Misamina." He gestured to the dragon still draped on him.

"Call me Mina, please." She gave the two a sweet smile as she grabbed one of the cups and sipped from it. The two smaller mammals sat down in the same chair since they were much larger than they needed to be for the two of them. Nick took one of the cups that was in front of him. Sniffing it, he checked it for anything.

"It's fine. If there was something in it, I wouldn't be drinking it." Arden said. He sipped the tea again, an errant eye looking at them over the rim of the cup. He was sitting directly across from the duo. It gave the fox chills with the way he was looking at the two of them.

"Now, what is it that you came here to talk about?" Kryen asked as he leaned towards the wolf. Arden sighed and set his drink down.

"Straight to the point, huh?" He sighed again and crossed his arms, leaning forward. "You know what's been been happening with all of these murders and robberies, right?"

This shocked the two officers. No one had heard of anything like this at precinct one. They both looked at Arden with shocked and confused stares.

"The ZBI has been handling all of them. That's why you haven't been as busy." Arden said to them. "Now then, we know exactly who it is that's been doing most of this. As for their whereabouts, I haven't the slightest."

"I read your report." Kryen said. He leaned into the table and intertwined his hands together. "I'm rather concerned. On one hand, I'm the ambassador for my clan. On the other, I want to help you as best I can."

Nick tuned them out, letting his mind wander. Nothing major had really been happening since that panther had tried to give a bomb to them at the Precinct. It just didn't sit right with the fox. There was barely anything worth reporting but drug dealings and robberies. From what Arden had been saying is that the ZBI was taking care of the murders.

"Nick!" Judy yelled. The fox jolted and toppled off of the chair. He hit the floor with a loud _thud_. "Oh! Are you okay?!" She yelled as she jumped down from the chair to check on him. The fox let out a groan and sat up.

He rubbed the back of his head and looked to his bunny. She had a mixed expression of hilarity and concern. Although concern was what was dominant. He chuckled lightly and pulled himself back into the seat.

"I'll be okay. I've taken harder hits." He chuckled a little and so did Kryen. "Anyway, something was needed of me?"

"Yeah. We need your network of connections at our disposal. Your lengthy connections may help us in this case." This made Nick chuckled for a little bit. Then his phone rang. He pulled it out and answered, setting it on the table and setting it to speaker.

"Nick! I need to talk to you." It was Finnick. He sounded like it was rather urgent. "I got some info on those guys that you asked me about. They're mostly a group of mammals that wanna take out the government and the police to put their leader in power."

"Well then. Thanks for the info, bud. By the way, Judy says 'hi'." A grumble could be heard from the other line before it went dead. He looked up to the others at the table and they looked right back at him. He chuckled a little and smiled.

"I was one step ahead." He said simply. Arden looked at his dragon friend and they nodded at each other.

"Just keep us posted, got it?" Kryen asked in a serious tone. His face had gotten serious as well, obviously not joking. Nick nodded and leaned back, putting his paws behind his head. He let the voices of the wolf and the two dragons be drowned out by his own thinking. He looked to his partner who was looking right back at him. She had a small smile on his muzzle, almost laughing.

"If you'll excuse us." The little rabbit said as she jumped down from the chair, pulling Nick along with her. The fox almost stumbled and fell onto the floor again. Once he got his footing, he followed Judy out of the apartment and out into the streets again.

He found himself looking at Judy most of the time as he followed the rabbit. She had let go of his paw and left him to follow her on his own. Before long, Arden had caught up to them. None of them said anything. Once they were back at their respective hotels, Nick flopped down on the single bed that was in his and Judy's room.

Judy had gone into the bathroom to take a shower after all that had been going on lately. Nick just couldn't shake the feeling that none of this was over. It made his brow furrow in thought. Just what was this organization truly planning? Where were they located, and how could they be stopped?

* * *

 **There we go! I got it done faster than I thought I would this time! I do know one thing. I'm not done with this one and I won't be for a while. I want to have at least 20 chapters to this arc, and possibly more than that. More than likely there will be more than my plans.**

 **Anywho. REVEIWS!**

 **MrAndersIversen: I'm glad that you like it so much and you've taken a fancy to my writing style. I will have more for you and anyone else to read.**

 **Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: I know how you feel. Jack Savage has been mentioned and I might have him make an appearance in a later chapter, but he won't be playing a huge role in the operation. On a side note, your writing is awesome.**

 **TheHuntingHydra: So you wanna start throwing things at me, huh? *pulls a sword out out of nowhere and cuts everything out of the air* You should have thought about that before you made me angry. Lol jk.**

 **Okay, that's done. Another chapter in the bag. And now I'm going to go slave away and pull the next chapter out of my brain.**

 **Until the next chapter, may inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	11. Chapter 11: A Lover and a Killer

**Okay, so I know it's late. But I had some problems with life. I've been reinstated to my position as president of the single's club, and probably will stay there for some time. Life hates me. Whatever, though.**

 **That's besides the point. Here is the newest installment to The Deepest Shades oF Red. I hope you favorite, follow, and possibly leave a review to tell me what you think of this so far. Now put on that inspirational song, mine is going to be Let the Battles Begin! from Final Fantasy VII. Now onto the story, enjoy!**

* * *

Arden sighed as he set his intertwined paws on his forehead. He was sitting next to Ashlynn in the hospital he had rushed her too when he realized that he couldn't do anything about the bullet wound. He had come to visit her every day. She was still asleep, and had been for some time. The doctors had told him that the shock had thrown her into an almost comatose sleep.

He had also taken these chances to think. He had been fueled by rage and adrenaline in the moment that it was happening. He hadn't meant to kill the panther that had shot the arctic fox. He had already made the connection between him and the E.O.Z. as affiliated. It hadn't been all that hard. It was especially easy to identify him as one of them due to the black and red bandana around his left ankle.

He sighed again and stood up. Before he turned, he laid a paw on Ashlynn's. He hoped for a reaction and knew that it wouldn't happen. Yet he still hoped that she would close her paw around his. He turned, sliding his paw from hers. He walked out of the hospital room and into the hall. Just as he was leaving the room, his senses tingled and he ducked. A book flew over his head and into the wall across from him. He looked back to see Ashlynn with her left arm pointed where the book had gone. A look of shock adorned his face. Nothing but shock. She was smiling now.

"Well, I guess my aim is still as good as it normally is…. My arm hurts, though…." She removed the face mask that covered her muzzle, rubbing the shoulder that she had thrown the book with. Without a moment to spare, Arden rushed over to her and took her head in his paws. He looked into her eyes to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

"It's reality. I'm not dreaming…." He said quietly. She nodded and smiled a little wider. Unconsciously did their heads moved closer until they were just millimeters apart. Without further question they connected at the lips in an almost fiery passion. When they finally separated, they were both panting. A string of saliva connected their lips.

"If you'll excuse my interrupting." A voice came from the door to the room. He recognized it as Bogo's extreme baritone. Wiping the saliva from his muzzle, he turned to look at him. The cape buffalo simply held out a file for him. Arden furrowed his brows and grabbed it. It read in bold letters R.E.D. with the word 'classified' stamped in red under it. It was a rather hefty file.

He opened it to the first page to read the name. It was one that he recognized but could not recall from his memory. A picture of a stoic looking golden jackal was in the top right portion of the file. Most of the information had been blacked out except for a name. Friedrich Melchavich.

"I've heard of this guy. But why would you give me a classified ZIA file on him?" Arden asked the buffalo as he went through off all of the pages that he cared to. To his surprise he looked like he had a very classified career.

"We want you to find him." Arden looked up at him as if he was stupid. Bogo still had his normal borderline angry look about him. Arden closed the file and gave it back to the large chief of police. The wolf's piercing eyes trained on Bogo and he gave him a small smile.

"Sure, I'll find your mammal. I already have an idea who to ask for any information about him, too." The wolf looked to Ashlynn with a loving smile. "I'll be back tomorrow to visit, promise." She nodded, knowing that he would keep his word. He kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.

As he left the hospital entirely, he blushed at what had just transpired. He had kissed her. With the chief right there at the door to witness it, too. Normally, something like this wouldn't have affected him as much. So why was it affecting him now? He sighed and left it to question later. For now, he had some things to discuss with Nick and Judy.

* * *

Arden waited patiently as he heard panicked talking and running from the duo's apartment. He didn't like to wait long, but would if necessary. With a hasty tug, Nick opened the door to their apartment.

"Oh. Arden. What brings you here?" He said nervously. On the inside of the apartment, he could see Judy hurriedly getting dressed. He raised an eyebrow at this.

"First, since when did I allow you to call me that, second, I need to talk to both of you." His tone became darker than normal. He wasn't as serious than he normally was when it came to business, but he was still serious. Nick let him in after making sure Judy had gotten dressed. He stepped inside and sat down next to the rather large tv that stood on an extended dresser.

"Okay, so I have to go out for some time. I'm looking for someone. What I need for you two to do is keep a somewhat low profile and double check every mammal that you come across." His tone became deadly and the air in the room became colder. It was as if the heater had stopped working and the cold from outside had started to seep in. Not that Arden cared nor noticed the change in the room temperature. "Under no circumstances let anyone you don't know get too close to you. I wanna tell you something that my father always told me when we were sparring. Trust no one, nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you hear."

Nick and Judy's faces went pale with the amount of intensity their companion was emitting. It seemed as if they weren't used to him being this serious about anything.

' _Good. They seem to get my point.'_ Arden let out a breath which seemed to calm the two down a little. They were still extremely tense though. Nick's tail had stopped swaying and he looked to be shivering.

"Alright. Anyway, I need to get going. I have work to do." Arden got down off the dresser and walked to the door, opening it before stopping. "Oh, and by the way, I won't be happy if something happens to Ashlynn." An eye turned towards the rabbit and fox who were still looking at him. The look meant if something did happen, it could mean death to the both of them. It made both of them shiver in sheer terror. Arden turned back towards the cold outside and closed the door behind him.

Nick and Judy looked at each other with fear in both of their eyes. They had never seen their combat instructor so angry or intense on something before.

"What...was that?" Judy asked shakily. She had seen her mother angry before, but even that was mild compared to the rage that was just displayed before them. Stu Hopps could get really angry if provoked, but Arden was on a whole other level. He had purpose, reason, and drive to be angry. Not even Judy's eldest and most trusted brother, Edward, had never been that angry. And Edward was the most hot-headed buck she had ever seen.

"I don't know. But I think we should heed his advice." Judy nodded in agreement. Another shiver went up her spine as she thought about seeing those eyes again. She let out a shaky breath, having not known that she was holding it. "I-i'm gonna go get a shower now." Nick said as he held his head and walked to the bathroom. His tail was shaking, and so were his arms and almost his legs.

' _Why was he so angry? It doesn't make any sense. He never lets his emotions get to him.'_ Judy shook her head to rid her mind of the thought of his blood red eyes with hate and a blood-lust in them. She never wanted to see them turned in her direction again. The thought made her want to curl into a little ball and cry.

Another knock came to the door of the apartment, causing her to jolt out of her trance. She walked over to it and cracked it open to see a large bear standing there with his arm raised.

"Judy!" A small, distinctive voice said from the bear's hand. Instantly she knew who it was. It was her friend and the mother to her godchild. Fru-Fru Big. Judy had previously rescued her from a cruel fate of being squashed by a giant donut. Looking back on it, it was almost laughable. "Oh, how are you? It's been way too long."

"Yeah, it has, Fru. Nick's in the shower, but please come in." She opened the door all the way to let the bear in. He almost had to duck not to hit the top of the doorway. He sat down on the edge of the bed and set his elbow on his knee to keep from making his arm run out of strength from holding it up.

"So, what have you and Nick been up to? I caught wind that you two are finally in a relationship." The arctic shrew said as she gave her the same look that she did when she was gossiping about something.

"Yeah...I guess that's what you could call it." Judy's mind drifted back to the look in Arden's eyes. "Hey, do you know anything about a wolf named Ardenhu Fangman?" Judy asked.

"Hm…. I recognize the name, but I don't know much about him. What about you, Kevin?" She asked her bear escort.

"He used to be an operative known to every large mafia group in Tundra Town. Nicknamed the Crimson Wolf, he was the most dangerous mammal about thirteen years ago. Not even Mr. Big would pick a fight with him. He killed so many, leaving almost no trace of himself. During that time, he was still working for the ZBI and from the looks of him when we passed by, he hasn't aged a bit. Kinda weird." The polar bear told the two. After that, he closed his muzzle and looked at them. Judy swallowed and felt a bead of sweat roll down her cheek. Her eyes had widened and her heartbeat quickened. She didn't even want to know what he was truly capable of.

* * *

 **Whoowee! Now THAT, is something that I didn't expect to come out my brain. ANYWAY, I hope you enjoyed this. I've already started on chapter 12, and I hope it'll come out well.**

 **Anywho, REVEIWS!**

 **RebelMetalWolf: *bows* Thank you, thank you. I try my best to please you guys.**

 **MrAndersIversen: I thank you as well for the kind words. I hope I will continue to amaze and dazzle you with my skillz lol.**

 **Guest: Sorry, dude. I don't speak spanish so I have no idea what that says. If anyone can translate, PM me please.**

 _ **Boom!**_ **Oh god! That was a grenade! Sorry, just playing some Borderlands. Now then, I hope you all will wait diligently until the next update.**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


	12. Chapter 12: Searching

**Okay, so I know this is WAAAAY overdue, but I want you to know, I finally have a switch with Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And let me tell you, it's great. That and family troubles have put this on hold.**

 **Other than that, I do want all of you to know that this story is in no way finished. I will continue to write until I run out of ideas or I finish the story completely. I am hoping for the latter more than the former.**

 **Anyway, I hope for you to enjoy this chapter, I will have the next one out whenever I can. Now then, favorite, maybe follow, and perhaps leave a review if you want me to know what you think about this chapter. Now how about you put on that inspirational song, mine for today is going to be Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box, and enjoy!**

* * *

Nick shivered, even as the warm water from the shower ran over his body. Never in his life had he seen such hate in anyone's eyes. He had seen hate, but nothing this strong. Almost as if the wolf that had just left the apartment was ready to kill at a moments notice.

He let out a shaky breath and grabbed the shampoo from the rack, pouring it into his paw. He began to wash himself thoroughly. His mind began to drift outward and onward. It settled on Judy. He thought about how she had been when they first met. She had been stubborn and strong willed, ready for anything.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered the day they had busted Bellwether. It had been such and on the fly kind of plan. And things were starting to heat up again. It never spelled anything good for the duo. Never.

"Nick! Fru is here! Come out and say hi!" Judy yelled from the main room of the apartment. He grunted at it and stepped out of the shower. The automatic dryer kicked in and almost instantly dried his fur out. It was still damp but nothing serious. He thanked innovation that the things existed. He shook his fur and it puffed out before settling slightly. He groaned about it for a moment, then put his clothes on. Only then did he walk out into the main area. When he saw Kevin he nodded and the polar bear nodded back.

"Nick! Honey, how are you?" Fru said. Her cheerful voice rang in his ears for a moment as he focused on the arctic shrew more. "It's been way too long. Daddy's been kinda worried about you."

"Has he? I thought he knew every step I took and every place I went." The fox chuckled a little at his own joke. Fru giggled some, but then stopped and turned rather serious.

"Anyway, he's more worried about the both of you. He wants to know why you're working with Arden most of all." Her voice became serious and she looked at him like Mr. Big would when interrogating. It sent a shill up his spine. It felt as if he was going to be iced.

"He's supposed to be training the entirety of precinct one. That went on for about two and a half months before it went downhill. Pretty sure you've been watching the news." Nick told his friend. Every word of it had been true. He was not about to lie to this shrew, especially since she was the daughter of the mammal he considered his adopted father.

"Alright then…." Fru said sceptically. It seemed she didn't entirely believe what he had just told her. Her eyes shifted back to Judy and she smiled again. "Anyway, I need to go. Daddy wants me to pick up a few things for him before I get home, so I need to go do that real quick. I do wanna go on a shopping spree with you at some point, Judes."

"Alright. Bye, Fru." Judy told her shrew friend. They waved at each other as Fru left with Kevin. Nick flopped down on the bed that was behind him. He let out a sigh of exhaustion, feeling as if he had been working the entire day even though it was their day off. The fox closed his eyes and felt Judy jump up onto the bed and sit on his stomach. He opened his eyes again and smiled up at her. She smiled back and laid her head on his chest. They both closed their eyes and soon fell back asleep.

* * *

"Damn him!" The cloaked wolf said as he slammed his fist on a desk, scaring half of the mammals in the room. He didn't care. Too little had been done to advance towards Ardnehu, and he didn't like it. "Since when did he get so good at avoiding us!? Even taking out our trailers!"

The tension in the room rose to extreme levels. He could feel it. But he ignored it. It was something to be ignored until this wolf was taken down by his hands. He didn't want him dead just yet. No, he wanted him to suffer, just like he had. He had lost his tail, half his face, and his family because of this wolf.

"I want every available mammal in the commons area in the fifteen minutes. Go." He said as the otter next to him bowed and left the room hastily. "The rest of you, find him." The wolf said in a deadly tone. Instantly everyone started working at computers or instructing others. With a quick turn of his hind paw and a wave of his cloak, he left the room. He snapped and the two guards on the inside of the room fell in behind him. His expression became twisted under his cloak as he headed towards his room. He had a special piece of equipment he wanted to use for this meeting.

Normally he would use his standard Mark VIII power suit to show up at meetings. But breakthroughs in technology had produced the best out of all of them. It was lightweight yet sturdy and completely bulletproof save for the joints.

He let out a low growl as he pulled his door open. He snapped again and the guards stood on either side of his door. Leaving the door open he walked over to the wall where his armor rested. It was black in color a made to fit him. He unhooked the cloak and pulled it off, throwing it aside in the process. Placing a paw on the chest of the armor, it began to glow. With that glow came the opening of the chest, legs, arms, and head opened for him. The suit was specific to his DNA so that only he could open it. He turned around and stepped into the machine. It closed around him and the heads-up display began running diagnostics.

" _All signs clear. Ready to operate normally."_ The robotic voice said. It was his mother's voice, who he had cherished and loved for so many years until she passed away. It had been Ardenhu's fault she had died. Because he couldn't save her fast enough, because of his mistakes. And now he was going to pay the price for what he had done. He would be paying severely.

* * *

"Gah! Blasted machine! Can't get any of it right!" An otter yelled out in frustration as the thing he was working on began to smoke from the circuits. He threw the wrench in his paw up and behind him as he walked away from it.

"Perhaps you need a 36H kilowatt motherboard for it to work. I used it on the Killocounter and it works just fine." A wolf said from the corner of the room. Her paws were busy with a suit that seemed to be fine, even though when the otter had worked on it, it had gone into critical condition on several occasions, and she had it working fine. The otter sighed and pulled the glasses from his face.

He had been teaching the girl everything he knew, and she was a natural. With everything that she had learned and especially the fact that she was even better at this than he was, he found that she may not need him. And from what he knew, she was working on a secret project that not even he was allowed to see. He looked back at her, and noticed her ear twitch.

"There's someone at the door." She said as a knock came to the door. The otter chuckled and went to answer it. When he opened it, there was a male wolf standing there staring at his phone while typing. He had a very serious look on his face as he did. He finished rather quickly and put his phone in his pocket.

"Hey, I need to talk to her." The otter furrowed his brow, not knowing who this was but he led him inside anyway. The female wolf had already come out of the workshop and was now enjoying a glass of lemonade that had been in the fridge.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. It's been a little while, Arden. How have you been?" The female said. She seemed to be familiar with him, which sort of confused the otter.

"It really has been, Lina. I guess I haven't had time to come see you lately. I've been caught up in work." The two hugged. "Which reminds me, have you talked to your father recently?"

"Yeah, I talked to him just the other day? Why? Is something wrong with him?" Lina asked her companion.

"No, I just need to know where he's at is all." The taller wolf told her. His expression seemed to solidify as he looked at the female.

"Last he told me, he was headed here. I'm actually expecting him here soon. You want some tea, coffee, anything?" She asked as she want to one of the cabinets and pulled out a glass.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass this time around." His phone made a ringing sound which made the otter jump.

"Arty, you want something?" Lina asked him.

"Sure, some tea please." The otter told her. He was still studying the much taller wolf. He was staring down at his phone with a look of almost horror on his face. It was as if someone close to him had died.

"Lina, I need you to do me a favor. Tell your dad that I need to see him asap. Tell him to come to my house when he has the time. You know the address." Arden said as he pocketed his phone and walked out the door. Arty turned to Lina and she shrugged at him, neither knowing what that was all about.

* * *

 **Welp, there you go. There's chapter twelve. I hope you liked it. Took me a while to come up with some things that would contribute to the story.**

 **Anywho, REVIEWS!**

 **GhostWolf88: And plenty more to come. It's gonna shake out like a wet dog; all over you just to get you wet too.**

 **RebelMetalWolf: Thank you! And here it is. I'm shooting for a lot more chapters than it is now, just to let you know.**

 **MrAndersIversen: I'm glad that I can live up to what you expect from me.**

 **And there we go, that's all done. I'm hoping I'll have the next chapter out in a few weeks, but we all know how that's been going lately.**

 **May inspiration light your paths,**

 **Leon**


End file.
